A 5,7 million euro grant from Innovation Fund Denmark will enable the construction of two new centres for lung diseases and infectious diseases in Denmark, hopefully increase the number of clinical trials in the country.
This initiative will hopefully increase the volume of early clinical trials to be performed in Denmark and further establish the country as a preferred country for early clinical trials in patients.
NEXT
The public-private partnership, National Experimental Therapy Partnership (NEXT) who will manage the large grant, is a collaboration across regions, university hospitals, universities and private pharmaceutical companies in Denmark, working to strengthen Denmark as a preferred country for early phase clinical research.
Clinical research receives high priority within the Danish healthcare system. Approximately 300 clinical trials are conducted each year, initiated by the industry and researchers respectively. Both types of trials are based on both close and efficient cooperation with hospitals. The donation now enables the building of two new centres for lung diseases and infectious diseases and an opportunity to significantly increase the volume of early clinical trials in patients.
“The ambition to create the best conditions for early clinical research has now been established firmly. With the new industry partners on board, and a motivated public engagement from all Danish regions, we have created the best possible opportunities for early clinical research in Denmark”, says Iben Ordrup Christensen, Executive Director, Clinical Research, MSD Denmark, Iceland & Norway.
Removing bottlenecks
Measured per capita, Denmark is the country in the world where most clinical trials are conducted. The export of pharmaceutical products currently accounts for approximately 12 per cent of Denmark’s total exports.
NEXT is working to further improve conditions for drug testing such as removing bottlenecks and barriers for the many public-private collaborations on clinical trials in Denmark.
“New biological medicines are being developed rapidly, and there is a need for a large number of early stage trials testing these medicines on patients with asthma, COPD and lung pulmonary fibrosis. The new specialised NEXT Respiratory Medicine Centre will focus on phase I and phase II trials at six units with broad national representation, ensuring fast inclusion of the right patients,” says Vibeke Backer, Clinical Professor and Chief Physician, Department of Clinical Medicine at Bispebjerg Hospital, which will serve as the Medical Lead for the NEXT Centre for Respiratory Medicine.
Source: Invest in Denmark
