A newly launched $5 million clinical trial program allows clinical trial sponsors to start trials in as little as 45 days in the Canadian province Ontario.
The QuickStart program initiated by Clinical Trials Ontario is an accelerated study start-up pathway to speed up patient access to clinical trials, while also making Ontario a more competitive destination for global trial investment, according to the Sept. 29 release.
“Slow start-up times have been a significant barrier to Ontario’s competitiveness as a life sciences leader, discouraging global sponsors from bringing studies to our province and delaying health opportunities for patients,” Bradly Wouters, Ph.D., chair of the Ontario leadership table for clinical trials. “QuickSTART is changing that by aligning research teams, institutions and sponsors around a common process and timeline that enables studies to move from planning to activation far more efficiently without compromising on quality.”
Clinical trial study start-up timelines can range from as little as 6 months for phase 1 studies and as long as 10 months for mid-to-late-stage studies.
QuickStart aims to reduce delays, streamline the process and strengthen coordination between hospitals, research institutions and industry sponsors to begin a clinical trial. The government of Ontario, as part of the province’s life science strategy, invested $5 million into the project. The program supports streamlined ethics reviews across more than 180 research sites.
The London health sciences centre research institute led the first pilot test to validate the ambitious 45-day timeline, where they were able to complete clinical trial start-up in 20 days. Other institutions such as Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Parkwood Institute, University Health Network, AstraZeneca, and Roche Canada are also taking part in the first QuickStart studies.