The chair mainly hopes to increase the capacity of the studies and combine the knowledge of the various partners. — © ROBIN UTRECHT
Antwerp –
The University of Antwerp, together with several hospitals and major pharmaceutical players, is setting up a chair for clinical studies in children. For example, they want to give children faster access to new vaccines. “Many parents are interested.”
The University of Antwerp, the UZA and the ZAS network (ZNA and GZA), together with pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Sanofi and GSK, organize the Antwerp Pediatric Clinical Trial Network chair, under the wings of the Antwerp University Fund.
“We want to combine and expand the expertise surrounding clinical studies in children,” explains Professor Stijn Verhuls, pediatrician at UZA. “We will also conduct research into vaccination confidence and together we want to organize major studies.”
With institutes such as the University of Antwerp – with Vaccinopolis as its flagship – and the Institute for Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp already has a solid basis for research into infectious diseases and vaccine research. But pharmaceutical companies and hospitals also jointly organize clinical studies in which they test new vaccines and medicines for adults. But there is still a lot of room for children to do more extensive research.
(Read more below photo.)
© UAntwerp
“Despite the fact that there is good support for clinical studies for children, we are reaching our limits,” says Professor Verhulst. “Studies with ten to twenty patients are successful. But pharmaceutical companies want to conduct larger studies with a hundred children or more. That is why the relevant players are joining forces with this chair to combine their expertise and knowledge.”
Interest from parents
“Such a study should of course not be too stressful for a child. You cannot ask to have a blood sample taken seven times,” says Professor Verhulst. “We do notice that parents are interested in nominating themselves or their children for a study. This way we can give children faster access to new and improved medicines and vaccines,” says Professor Verhulst.
The UZA Cadix. — © RR
2024-02-19 15:00:00
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