In order to explore the contribution of European research networks/infrastructures to the paediatric research landscape in Europe, the article aims to:
- Identify the current state of the art for European research networks/infrastructures that can facilitate drug research in children.
- Describe two exemplars of the development of European research networks/infrastructures.
- Suggest the future state, the situation from 2024 onwards.
Paediatric drug development faces several barriers. These include fragmentation of stakeholders and inconsistent processes during the conduct of research. This review summaries recent efforts to overcome these barriers in Europe. Two exemplar initiatives are described. The European Paediatric Translational Research Infrastructure (EPTRI) facilitates preclinical research and other work that underpins clinical trials. conect4children (c4c) facilitates the design and implementation of clinical trials. Both these initiatives listen to the voices of children and their advocates. Coordination of research needs specific effort that supplements work on science, resources and the policy context.
Among the authors of this paper there are Dr. Donato Bonifazi, EPTRI Coordinator and Prof. Adriana Ceci, EPTRI Senior Scientist.
Read the article here.