Switzerland plays a vital role in European research projects. Providing regulatory support and participating in a pan-European platform for pandemic research and preparedness are examples of how our network helps to ensure the success of research projects across Europe.
Switzerland participates as active partner in projects funded through the European Union as part of the European bio-defence preparedness plan called HERA Incubator. HERA Incubator projects are aimed at preparing Europe for an increased threat of coronavirus variants. Specifically, Switzerland participated in COVID-19 platform trials on new treatments and vaccinations. The SCTO’s Clinical Trial Unit (CTU) Network provides these trials with consulting, regulatory support, monitoring, and project management services.
The EU-RESPONSE project (EUropean RESearch and Preparedness netwOrk for pandemics and emerging iNfectious diseaSEs) launched several clinical trials to test treatments for COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases. One of these projects is the EU-SolidAct, a pan-European platform for pandemic research and preparedness, which is currently investigating the treatment of patients with severe COVID-19 with baricitinib and the treatment of patients with moderate COVID-19 with bemcentinib. The trials are recruiting patients in 14 countries, and Switzerland has received regulatory approval to join them.
Through its observer status in the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN), the SCTO participates in the project EOSC-Life, which brings together the 13 life science research infrastructures in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) to create an open, digital, and collaborative space for biological and medical research. The CTU Network provides experts to contribute to distinct work packages through the SCTO’s Data Management Platform as well as the coordinated involvement of other relevant organisations in Switzerland, such as the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) and the Swiss Biobanking Platform (SBP). The collaboration has resulted in a joint publication on sharing sensitive data.
The TREOCAPA study, which aims to assess the effectiveness of paracetamol on the closure of the ductus arteriosus in very preterm infants, is being performed in Zurich, Geneva, and Lausanne. Zurich was the first centre in Europe that recruited patients and is the centre with the highest recruitment rate. The study is part of the pan-European paediatric clinical trial network c4c (conect4children). Through the c4c network, it was also possible to open the industry study FIONA in Switzerland, which is sponsored by Bayer. The study investigates how well the study treatment finerenone works and how safe it is in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and proteinuria. Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) is already recruiting patients, and the University Children’s Hospital Basel (UKBB) is in the preparation phase and will start recruitment in early 2023. The Swiss Research Network of Clinical Pediatric Hubs (SwissPedNet) is the Swiss hub in the c4c consortium and therefore the contact point for all c4c activities as well as the link to the Swiss paediatric study sites within SwissPedNet.