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Do you follow the standard intervals indicated on the drug label and take your medicines on time? Why are some drugs only taken once daily, while some need to be taken for more than 4 times a day? Some people might also think that the more medicines one takes, the faster the recovery. Is it true?

Number of doses per day is affected by a bunch of factors, one of which is the metabolic rate of a drug in human body. If the metabolic rate is fast, the daily dose would be higher so as to maintain a steady drug concentration in your body. You should follow the instuctions and take the medications on time. Never take more or less medicines than prescribed. Overdose will cause toxicity, while insufficient dosage will affect the treatment.

The dosing interval is determined by the number of daily doses. Unless specified by your doctor, the dosing interval is as follows:

• 1 time a day: Every 24 hours and taken at the same time every day
• 2 times a day: Every 10-12 hours
• 3 times a day: Every 6-8 hours
• 4 times a day: Every 4-6 hours

Available in Chinese only.

The ICN Annual Steering Board Meeting 2021 took place on November 16, 2021 in the form of virtual meeting and was hosted by Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit (CCTU), Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, one of the steering board members. During the meeting, all steering board members made decisions on key governance items. Mr. Henry Yau, ICN Chairperson cum Managing Director of HKU-CTC and Ms. Dr med Christiane Blankenstein, ICN Vice-Chairperson cum Director of Muenchner Studienzentrum, led the discussion on the strategic plan of ICN for the incoming year, which set out a direction for the Operations Team to work on in the year to come.

The ICN Annual General Meeting 2021 was held on November 17, 2021. Three experience sharing sessions were arranged and representatives from Cambridge University Hospitals and AstraZeneca were invited to talk about patient and public involvement as well as the influences of COVID-19 on clinical trials, which are both hot topics in 2021. Enthusiastic responses were received during the Q&A session. The next ICN Steering Board Meeting and Symposium will be hosted by Muenchner Studienzentrum, Technical University Munich, School of Medicine, in October 2022.

Curious about our HKU Phase 1 Clinical Trials Centre? In the episode 1 of the interview, you will have a view of the Centre, and Mr. Henry Yau, our Managing Director, will also introduce HKU’s efforts and achievements in clinical research and novel drugs development.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWzwTAenZzA

In episode 2, you will know more about the strengths of Hong Kong in conducting clinical trials, as well as the challenges we need to overcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsT8brGP_F4

(Available in Chinese only)

A new chapter of HKU-CTC Public Education Series named “The Importance of Phase 1 Clinical Trials” was posted on HKU-CTC Facebook page on September 17, 2021.

Now News visited HKU Phase 1 Clinical Trials Centre earlier to produce a report on the process and progress of the phase 1 clinical trial of “VectorFlu ONE”. Here is the report by Now News (Chinese only):

High cholesterol level is prevalent in Hong Kong. About half of the population have hypercholesterolemia. It is one of the major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Professor Bernard Cheung of HKU Department of Medicine and Dr. Ching-Lung Cheung of HKU Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology conducted a 3-week clinical trial in 2015.

The phase 1 clinical trial of VectorFlu^TM ONE, the world’s first COVID-19 nasal vaccine developed by the research team of HKU Department of Microbiology, has commenced in March 2021 at the HKU Phase 1 Clinical Trials Centre. About 115 healthy volunteers will be recruited to evaluate the safety and immune responses of the vaccine.

VectorFlu^TM ONE is the first novel vaccine that is developed by Hong Kong and goes into human trial. The phase 1 trial will last for around 1.5 years. Part 1 of the trial has commenced in March 2021, where about 30 volunteers have already received one or two vaccinations. Part 2 will begin in July 2021 and 85 volunteers will be recruited. We are still looking for more volunteers to join.