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International Symposium “Clinical Trials in a Globalised Society -Building an Effective Cancer Clinical Trials System-“

International Symposium “Clinical Trials in a Globalised Society -Building an Effective Cancer Clinical Trials System-“
A symposium was held at the British Embassy in Tokyo on May 25, 2010, on the theme of “Clinical Trials in a Globalised Society: Building an Effective System for Cancer Clinical Trials.” The symposium was co-hosted by the Institute in cooperation with the British, American, and Korean Embassies.

Together with visiting experts from each country, over one hundred participants joined in active discussions on how each country is creating effective systems for the cancer domain and development of new medicines in the midst of the ongoing international standardization of clinical research and clinical trial systems.

In the Opening Address, British Ambassador David Warren, U.S. Ambassador John V. Roos, Republic of Korea Minister of Economic Affairs Soon-Taik Hwang, and Japan Cancer Society Goodwill Ambassador Dr. Agnes Chan, together with Institute chairman, Dr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa, greeted participants and stressed the importance of cooperation among the countries in order to deliver effective new medicines more quickly and safely.

During the following Plenary Session, each country’s clinical trial system was introduced by, respectively, Dr. Yung-Jue Bang, Vice President of Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials (KoNECT), Dr. Edward Trimble, Head of Gynecologic Cancer Therapeutics and Quality of Cancer Care Therapeutics, Clinical Investigations Branch, at the National Cancer Institute, and Professor Jonathan Ledermann of University College London Cancer Institute. Also, Dr. Toshio Miyata, Assistant Director of Research & Development in the Health Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare spoke on the current situation and future direction in Japan.

Two panel discussions then followed, exploring the themes of “Promoting International Collaboration in Cancer Clinical Trials” and “Collaboration with Patient Groups”, with active debate on how best to attain a system enabling patient-centered clinical trials while also promoting international collaboration.

To conclude the symposium, concrete ideas and proposals for the future were generated through a review of the day’s discussions and comments from participants. Mr. Kan Suzuki, Senior Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, then closed the event with a speech emphasizing the importance of clinical research and trials as part of the policy of “Life Innovation,” one of the administration’s growth strategies centered on the healthcare field.

With the continued need for both the improvement and globalization of the clinical research and trial systems, it is anticipated that the four countries will collaborate further in sharing best practices and investigating future issues. It is hoped, therefore, that this symposium can serve as a foundation for deepening discussion and common policy implementation.

Exhibition date:2010-05-25


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