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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

HKU-CTC successfully hosted the 6^th ICN Steering Board Meeting and Annual General Meeting 2020 on 24-25 November, 2020. Participants engaged actively and had vivid discussions – even though the meetings were moved online due to the pandemic.

At the Steering Board Meeting, Mr. Henry Yau, Managing Director of HKU-CTC, was elected the new ICN Chairperson. He will work with the new Vice Chairperson, Dr. Christiane Blankenstein of Munich Study Center, Technical University of Munich, the ICN Steering Board, and the ICN Operations Team to contribute to the further development of ICN in the coming two years. The Steering Board also formulated a strategic plan towards realization of the values of “Global, Excellence, Harmonization, Impacts”.

The next ICN Steering Board Meeting and Annual General Meeting will be hosted by Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit (CCTU), Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in November 2021.

Clinical research is an essence of medical advancement and a cornerstone of a robust health care system. In general, there are two types of clinical research – industry-sponsor studies and investigator-initiated studies (IISs) – whereas those initiated by investigators are increasingly important nowadays for its variety and diversity. They also bridge the research gaps on areas which are rarely covered by the industry. Facilitation of IISs is therefore a focus of The University of Hong Kong Clinical Trials Centre (HKU-CTC). In order to encourage investigators to initiate more high impact IISs, HKU-CTC has recently launched PRACTISE^® IIS – a training programme addressing the specific considerations for IISs.

The first course was completed by way of an online seminar on 28th August, 2020. Professor Ian Wong, Head of Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, and Dr. Helen Zhi, Director of Biostatistics and Clinical Research Methodology Unit, shared their practical tips and experience in designing and managing big data research and clinical studies with over 300 participants and received enthusiastic response. CTC will continue to organize other courses on IISs.

HKU-CTC set up a Chinese New Year Booth at Queen Mary Hospital on 21st January, 2020, to celebrate Chinese New Year with the supporters. Dr. Hong, one of the CTC Panda Ambassadors, visited the booth on that day. He gave out calendar cards and fai-chuns to the visitors. Visitors who participated in the quiz game at the booth and answered all questions correctly were given specially designed red packets as well. The responses were enthusiastic. Here are some highlights of the event:

Novel coronavirus emerges in Hong Kong recently. Dr. Hong, Panda Ambassador of HKU Clinical Trials Centre, also wears a face mask to protect himself from viruses!

He wants to take this chance to remind you all to stay healthy and maintain personal hygiene to stop the spread of virus and avoid being infected. Dr. Hong is introducing you some useful tips:-

The ICN Annual Steering Board Meeting 2019 took place on September 26, 2019 in Freiburg, Germany and was hosted by Clinical Trials Unit Freiburg of University Hospital Freiburg, one of the founding members. During the meeting, all steering board members reported their recent activities, and together formulated an action plan for the coming year through intensive small group discussions and open exchange of ideas over panel meetings. Mr. Henry Yau, Managing Director of HKU-CTC, was elected the new ICN Vice-Chairperson and will work together with the new Chairperson, Dr. Thomas Hiemstra of Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit and other Steering Board members to contribute to ICN’s exciting development in the coming two years.

The ICN Symposium 2019 was held following the Steering Board Meeting. Twelve speakers from Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, Taiwan and Hong Kong shared their insightful ideas around the theme of “Clinical Trials in the Global and Digital World”. Mr. Henry Yau, our Managing Director, and Dr. Creany Wong, our Associate Director, shared their experience on “clinical trials central management and digitalization” and received enthusiastic responses from the floor.

The next ICN Steering Board Meeting and Symposium will be hosted by HKU-CTC in November 2020 in Hong Kong.

When most people think of medical careers, the life of a practicing doctor immediately come to mind. However, there is also a very different option in the medical field which involves an alternative pathway: be a medical researcher.

30 students who are newly admitted to the HKU Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Programme (MBBS) this year visited HKU Phase 1 Clinical Trials Centre on July 8, 2019. An information session introducing the concepts of clinical research was delivered by Dr. Creany Wong, Associate Director of HKU-CTC, followed by a tour around the Centre.

The students reflected that it was an eye-opening experience as they had never thought of the possibility of entering the research field after the completion of a medical degree. Some considered that it could also be another way to contribute to the society and to the betterment of mankind.

National Medical Products Administration (NMPA, previously called China Food and Drug Administration) visited Queen Mary Hospital on 29th April, 2019 for re-inspection on 14 clinical specialties (including HKU Phase 1 Clinical Trials Centre, cardiology, endocrinology & metabolism, respiratory medicine, hepatobiliary & pancreatic surgery and liver transplantation, obstetrics & gynaecology, haematology & bone marrow transplantation, neurology, nephrology, clinical immunology, orthopaedics & traumatology, gastroenterology & hepatology, oncology and paediatrics & adolescent medicine). The overall inspection result was satisfactory and the said specialties successfully received the continuing accreditation by the NMPA, meaning that the clinical drug trial data from these specialties are acceptable by the NMPA for evaluation of new drug approval applications.

HKU/QMH has been accredited by the NMPA for conducting clinical drug trials in six clinical specialties since 2006. HKU Phase 1 Clinical Trials Centre and seven additional clinical specialties were further accredited in July 2016.

HKU-CTC set up a Chinese New Year Booth at Queen Mary Hospital on 30th January, 2019 to share the joy and happiness with the public. Information panels with introduction of clinical trials were displayed. Other than that, Dr. Hong, one of the CTC Panda Ambassadors, visited the booth on that day. He gave out red packets and fai-chuns to the supporters. It attracted many visitors to come and learn more about clinical trials. Here are some highlights of the event: