Text by Charito Madrideo
Photos by Joseph Bautista
The speakers seated from the left are Mr. Rodmar Pulido, Mr. Katsumi Ishii, Ms. Maria Ruriko Umano-Urbiztondo, Dr. Sifa Marie Joelle Muchanga, Dr. Benjamin P. Sablan, Prof. Edlyn B. Jimenez, Dr. Iris Conela A. Tagaro; standing are the participants and NCTTC staff and officers
The First Annual Clinical Trials and Translational Science Meeting: Enhancing capacities and collaborations towards patient-centered trials is a hybrid annual meeting jointly organized by the National Institutes of Health – National Clinical Trials and Translation Center (NCTTC) and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) with support from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), in collaboration with the Health Economics Research Centre (HERC), Oxford Population Health. It was held from September 24-27, 2024 at the Henry Sy Sr., Bldg.
Dr. Sifa Marie Joelle Muchanga, Senior Researcher and ARISE Research Coordinator, emphasized the need for clinical trials and comprehensive training. First, the number of clinical trials in Asia is growing. Second, there is complexity in the design of trials, and because of this, several problems and protocol deviations were foreseen. Third is an expected increase in trials for innovative new technology, such as telemedicine and patient wearable devices, that requires new skills.
Dr. Benjamin P. Sablan, Director of NCTTC, welcomed and encouraged all the participants to join in the discussions. Prof. Edlyn B. Jimenez, coordinator of the UP Manila Research Ethics Board, presented the “Principles and elements of research ethics, and regulations and guidelines” for good clinical practice while Dr. Iris Conela A. Tagaro, head of the Clinical Research Division of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) discussed the ethics and regulations in “Regulatory frameworks and procedures for research applications at the FDA.” Atty. James Dennis C. Gumpal, former chief legal officer of UP Manila and a professor of Medical jurisprudence at the UP College of Law and Angeles University Foundation School of Law, lectured on “Protection of clinical research staff.” Following him was NCCTC consultant Mr. Rodmar Pulido who discussed the “Governance and management of clinical research studies.”
For the second day, pharmacist and senior director of Oncology Therapeutic Strategy and Innovation for Syneos Health, Mr. Conrado Vidad Jr., talked about “Introduction to clinical research and the Philippine clinical research landscape.” Discussing “Scientific concepts and research design” was Dr. Nadina C. Jose, assistant professor at Rutgers University. Mr. Benjamin Maligalig, statistician of Pfizer Philippines, spoke about “Protocol development.” For the last module of the day, Ms. Anna Ordinario, pharmacist and director for Digital Health R&D of the Asia, Middle East, and Africa Region of AstraZeneca, delivered “Contracts and budget.” The afternoon session for the third day, “Understanding patient choices in clinical trials,” was facilitated by Dr. John Buckell, Nuffield senior research fellow of HERC at Oxford Population Health Center and a research fellow of Green Templeton College.
For its final day, “Infectious diseases and vaccine trials for pandemic preparedness,” with an additional special feature on “Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and vaccine trials for immunocompromised population,” president of The Japanese Society for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Research, Dr. Wataru Sugiura, discussed the latest updates on HIV research and treatment in Japan. Following him was Mr. Yasuhiko Shinmura, general manager of Clinical Development Department at the R&D Division KM Biologics Co., Ltd., who discussed “Live attenuated smallpox vaccine LC16-KMB potential for the monkeypox virus (mpox) prevention in the immunocompromised population.” Finally, a panel discussion on the “Challenges and opportunities in patient engagement in trials in the ARISE network” and experience sharing on the “Operationalizing the NCTTC Clinical Research Capacity Framework (NCRCF) in the ARISE network” were facilitated.
