The new Research and Clinical Trials Center of São João Hospital, in Porto, wants to turn that hospital unit into a “European reference” in conducting clinical trials, allowing “more effective and comfortable procedures” for patients.
Speaking to Lusa, the coordinator of the center, João Massano, explained today, on the day of its inauguration, that the center will function as a “means of support” for the research teams at the São João University Hospital Center (CHUSJ), which are currently developing more than 90 clinical trials related to about 30 diseases in the areas of Gastroenterology, Oncology, Pediatrics, Neurology, Endocrinology, and Pulmonology.
The Center for Research and Clinical Trials is installed in a space adjacent to the Ambulatory Care Center (CAM) and will centralize trials of innovative medicines for outpatients.
“For the first time we have the whole team together and close to the patients, close to the hospital’s external consultations, which allows us to have much more effective and comfortable procedures for the patients, which results in a greater efficiency of the whole process, of the whole procedure,” he said.
According to him, this research center will allow “increasing the number of clinical trials and capturing the best clinical trials, those that bring the best therapy to benefit patients.”
“What we want is to be more competitive already, not only at a national level, but at a European level, and this structure is determinant for that goal,” he pointed out.
João Massano explained that the structure will “provide logistical and procedural support for clinical trials, help collect data, do all the negotiation of financial contracts, logistical organization of patient visits, help with data entry into computer platforms, data correction, among other procedures.
The new facility, which represents an investment of more than 200 thousand Euros, was built through sponsorship.
