Research thrives on lively exchange, collaboration, and ventures founded on trust. To foster these conditions, the SCTO has established a strong tradition of hosting forums and providing opportunities to debate challenges and developments in research.
The SCTO Forum 2022, entitled On the clinical research horizon: EU CTIS launch and ICH GCP renovation – how will they affect Switzerland?, was held once again as a fully digital event via Zoom. The 81 participants were treated to interesting presentations on the forum’s topic. The discussions focused on the EU’s new requirements, their relevance for Switzerland, and what needs to be considered from an academic perspective when submitting applications for clinical trials in Europe.
In June, the SCTO Symposium in Lugano was devoted to data science and artificial intelligence in clinical research and was co-organised by the CTU-EOC Lugano. Leading experts presented practical national and international examples and answered questions as to what extent the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is already a reality in clinical research. Over 150 participants attended the event. A selection of video recordings and slides from the presentations as well as the symposium’s programme are available on our website.
Symposium 2022 in Lugano
In November, the SCTO Platforms held their second joint event in Bern on the overall theme of communication The event was attended by more than 75 collaborators from the SCTO’s Clinical Trial Unit (CTU) Network. The goal of the event was to improve and optimise communication around the platforms’ products. This event is held every two years in order to facilitate networking between the platforms and to give them an opportunity to present their activities and tools to each other.
Trinational congress in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (D|A|CH)
In 2022, the trinational DACH Symposium took place in Salzburg and was attended by more than 600 participants. The DACH Symposium is aimed at all those involved in clinical trials: study nurses, study coordinators, medical experts, monitors, data managers, project managers, pharmaceutical industry representatives, and patients.
Medical devices training
Together with Integrated Scientific Services (ISS), a service provider specialised in the medical technology field, we organised a training course on medical device software for our CTU members. Around 40 participants from our network completed the training online in April.
International Clinical Trials Day: ECRIN event on recruitment in clinical trials
On 17 May, the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN) held its International Clinical Trials Day in Berlin entitled Recruitment in Clinical Trials. Over 100 people attended the event in Berlin, and more than 400 people connected online from all across the world.
ECRIN CTU Day 2022
In December, ECRIN hosted its second CTU Day, bringing together members of its CTU community from all its national networks. Over 200 participants tuned in to learn about the latest developments at ECRIN.