Clinical Trials Ontario (CTO) and the BC Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (BCCRIN) are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create opportunities to work collaboratively.
From left to right:
Rob McMaster, Chair, BCCRIN; Heather Harris, Director, Operations, BCCRIN; Susan Marlin, President and CEO, CTO; Arthur Slutsky, Chair, Board of Directors, CTO.
The MOU establishes a “cooperative and mutually beneficial collaboration” in which CTO and BCCRIN will work together, formally and informally, on initiatives focused on improving the clinical trial environment in Ontario and British Columbia.
“CTO and BCCRIN are like-minded organizations with a shared interest in developing and implementing programs to enhance the climate for conducting clinical trials,” says CTO President and CEO Susan Marlin. “It makes sense to see where we can partner and move forward to advance clinical research.”
CTO and BCCRIN will now share information about and collaborate on mutually agreed areas. These could include patient recruitment and retention, clinical trials contracting, and other measures to streamline the conduct of clinical trials and improve the clinical research environment.
Professional development for the clinical research community may also be an area for information-sharing and collaboration.
The MOU could also lead to coordinated advocacy on issues of mutual interest to Ontario and BC, such as research ethics review.
BCCRIN Director of Operations Heather Harris says the MOU is the first formal interprovincial collaboration of its kind in the Canadian clinical trials community.
“This is a great example of provinces getting together and officially agreeing to work together,” she says. “Both organizations have a strong desire to make things happen.”