The progression of a clinical trial
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he Karolinska Campus area is being extended and refurbished. In the middle of the construction site we find the Clinical Pharmacology Unit of the Department of Medicine at KarolinskaInstitutet. At the end of the corridor, Pierre Lafolie welcomes us into his immaculate office, the hub from which he directs a number of different projects. One of these is the Nordic Trial Alliance. Decrease in Nordic clinical trials The purpose of the Nordic Trial Alliance (NTA) is to make it easier to carry out clinical research in the Nordic countries. – The past 10 years have seen a decrease in the number of clinical trials in the Nordic countries, explains Dr Lafolie, with a worried look behind his glasses. – More and more clinical drug trials are being carried out in Eastern Europe, Asia and South America, as the costs are often lower and there is easier access to sufficiently large patient groups. It is essential to reverse this trend, he states. Nordic appeal According to Dr Lafolie, the Nordic region could become an attractive location for clinical trials with some improvements to the basic framework. Today, pharmaceutical companies seeking to test new medicines in the Nordic countries must submit applications to at least five medicines agencies. And then the clinical trial must be approved by at least five committees for medical research ethics. – It should be enough for only one country to grant permission. We need to be able to trust one another, says Dr Lafolie. The 60-year-old doctor speaks quickly and enthusiastically and is clearly a man with a
mission. He has vast experience in clinical research, and has worked with clinical trials in clinics and for industry, medicines agencies and ethics committees. Coordination of health registries – Our health registries are a major competitive advantage, says Dr Lafolie. In his opinion, coordinating the Nordic health
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registries into a joint Nordic infrastructure will strengthen the Nordic health care sector, which will also benefit research. This will give the Nordic countries a unique tool for tracking the progress and quality of a drug. – If we can achieve this, we would significantly boost the attractiveness of the Nordic region for pharmaceutical com-