National Clinical Trials Coordination Initiatives

SCRI and the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) have been appointed as joint secretariat for the Clinical Trials Implementation Committee (CTIC) set up by the Ministry of Health which aims to improve the efficiency of clinical trials in Singapore. SCRI works with key stakeholders in public healthcare institutions and government agencies to implement the following strategic initiatives.

Tackle CTA Negotiation

SCRI works hand-in-hand with the Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (SAPI) and public healthcare clusters to revamp the operational aspects of the Master Clinical Trials Agreement (MCTA) and budget template.

The MCTA was reviewed and agreed by legal representatives from SAPI and the public healthcare clusters with the aim to expedite agreement review process between Sponsor and Singapore’s Public Healthcare Institutions. The MCTA template can be found here.

The budget template was developed to increase transparency among the relevant parties and reduce time taken for budget negotiation.  A sample of the budget table is available for download here.

For more information on the budget template or the full sample of the budget template, please drop us an email at contact@scri.edu.sg.

Drive CRC training and career path framework

Clinical Research Coordinators (CRCs) play an important role in clinical research. CRCs oversee the day-to-day activities for trials and provide invaluable support to the investigators. SCRI develops training programmes for CRCs to acquire more advance skills so as to better support clinical trials. SCRI will also work with healthcare institutions to devise a career path framework for CRCs.

Create performance metrics to track clinical trial efficiency

A National Clinical Trials Dashboard is developed to track and measure the performance and efficiency of clinical trials – recruitment rates and publications. The dashboard provides SCRI the opportunity to mitigate underlying issues that resulted delays in clinical trials.

Harmonise institutional ethics boards review system

On 22 May 2014, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between SingHealth and the National Healthcare Group (NHG) to implement a mutual recognition of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals. This initiative promotes a more robust IRB system with aligned processes, shortening start-up times and reducing costs for multi-institutional clinical trials.

Increase public awareness on clinical research in Singapore

SCRI launched an SG50 commemorative book titled Saving Lives Through Clinical Research: A journey of Singapore’s scientific leadership on 28 Sep 2015. To the man on the street, the book provides a snapshot of the collective achievements that have propelled the reputation of Singapore's research expertise worldwide.