Building sustainable clinical trial sites in Sub-Saharan Africa through networking, infrastructure improvement, training and conducting clinical studies: The PanACEA approach

Mekota, Anna -Maria; Gillespie, Stephen H.; Hoelscher, Michael; Diacon, Andreas H.; Dawson, Rodney; Churchyard, Gavin; Sanne, Ian; Minja, Lilian; Kibiki, Gibson; Maboko, Leonard; Lakhi, Shabir; Joloba, Moses; Alabi, Abraham; Kirenga, Bruce; McHugh, Timothy D.; Grobusch, Martin P. und Boeree, Martin J. (2022): Building sustainable clinical trial sites in Sub-Saharan Africa through networking, infrastructure improvement, training and conducting clinical studies: The PanACEA approach. In: Acta Tropica, Bd. 238, 106776

Abstract

Introduction: The Pan-African Consortium for the Evaluation of Anti-Tuberculosis Antibiotics (PanACEA) was designed to build tuberculosis (TB) trial capacity whilst conducting clinical trials on novel and existing agents to shorten and simplify TB treatment. PanACEA has now established a dynamic network of 11 sub-Saharan clinical trial sites and four European research institutions. Objectives: In 2011, a capacity development program, funded by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), was launched with four objectives, aiming at strengthening collaborating TB research sites to reach the ultimate goal of becoming self-sustainable institutions: networking;training;con-ducting clinical trials;and infrastructure scaling-up of sites. Methods: Assessment in six sub-Saharan TB-endemic countries (Gabon, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) were performed through a structured questionnaire, site visits, discussion with the PanACEA consortium, setting of milestones and identification of priorities and followed-up with evaluations of each site. The results of this needs-based assessment was then translated into capacity development measures. Results: In the initial phase, over a four-year period (March 2011 - June 2014), the programme scaled-up six sites;conducted a monitoring training program for 11 participants;funded five MSc and four PhD students, fostering gender balance;conducted four epidemiological studies;supported sites to conduct five Phase II studies and formed a sustainable platform for TB research (panacea-tb.net). Conclusion: Our experience of conducting TB clinical trials within the PanACEA programme environment of mentoring, networking and training has provided a sound platform for establishing future sustainable research centres. Our goal of facilitating emergent clinical TB trial sites to better initiate and lead research activities has been mostly successful.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Medizin
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• ISSN: 0001-706X
• Sprache: Englisch