Clinical
CZECRIN: support for COVID-19 clinical studies
The Czech National Node to the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (CZECRIN) offers its support, services and expertise to all research-oriented physicians, with the aim of involving its forces in quick access to initiate national and especially transnational clinical trials. CZECRIN launched a dedicated website (available in Czech), to inform not only the professional, but also the non-expert public, about all ongoing and planned activities towards clinical research. Moreover, the NATIONAL CTUs NETWORK, a unit of CZECRIN, has been mapping the interest of healthcare facilities participating in the individual clinical trials focusing on the treatment of patients with the COVID-19 disease, which can be found on this website. In addition, the RI initiated the international study CZECRIN COVID-19, in collaboration with the Slovak SLOVACRIN network, aimed at evaluating the efficacy and safety of the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in hospitalized patients with acute respiratory impairment requiring oxygen therapy. Furthermore, CZECRIN will offer research capacity and administrative support to other facilities to battle COVID-19.
CZ-OPENSCREEN: Coronavirus sample testing and database
The National Infrastructure for Chemical Biology (CZ-OPENSCREEN), Czech node to EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC, hosted by the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, plans to test up to 1,000 samples per day. CZ-OPENSCREEN focuses on the identification of new molecular probes and tools for research and validation of compounds suitable for the development of new drugs. The team has also developed the internal database CORONAbase, to register samples and to transform all the appropriate personal data to an electronic version. CZ-OPENSCREEN is sharing the know-how of high-throughput workflow for RNA isolation and preparation of RT-qPCR reactions, as well as the CORONAbase, with other academic institutions involved in Covid-19 testing, in order to improve their testing services and standards.
TRANSVAC2: Support for COVID-19 vaccine development
TRANSVAC2 has redirected the currently open call to focus on SARS-Cov2 vaccine efforts. Researchers developing vaccine candidates against COVID-19 are encouraged to apply and benefit from all TRANSVAC2 services, such as:
- Adjuvant formulation (Vaccine Formulation Institute and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research)
- Structural Biology (INSTRUCT)
- Animal models (CEA, BPRC, IRTA-CReSA and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research Clinical Trial Support)
- ECRIN (European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network)
- Regulatory support (EATRIS and European Vaccine Initiative)
ECRIN: Fast-track access to clinical study support
The European Clinical Research Infrastructure (ECRIN) provides support to the planning and design of multinational clinical studies, and operational services to the management of the trial. In the COVID-19 context, ECRIN develops a fast-track procedure for access to, and provision of services. After supporting investigators and sponsors in designing and planning the trial (including on the regulatory and ethical context), ECRIN provides operational support to the sponsors for the management of the multinational trial, including ethical, regulatory and data protection approvals, vigilance, data monitoring anddata management services (through ECRIN-certified data centres).
As part of the Alliance of Medical Infrastructures with BBMRI and EATRIS, ECRIN also offers a Fast Response Service for researchers.
