Praise for reputation and engagement

During the workshop, participants were asked about the positive and negative aspects they notice in working with the UMC Utrecht. One of the strong points mentioned was the excellent reputation of the UMC Utrecht and its researchers. The substantive expertise was also highly regarded, as was the level of engagement in the collaboration with industry parties and the alignment with indication areas such as oncology. Participants also appreciated that the UMC Utrecht has one signle point of contact for trials (U-TRIAL). Furthermore, in the Netherlands in general, there is a good infrastructure, and quality of research and data are high. 

Speed

An improvement the UMC Utrecht can make according to the pharmaceutical companies, is the speed of decision-making on study participation, and the time it takes to finalize a contract. This is not a problem that only the UMC Utrecht has to deal with; this is a challenge for hospitals in the Netherlands in general. This leads to the Netherlands as a country becoming less attractive, resulting in the loss of trials. U-TRIAL advocates the improvement of the clinical trial climate within the UMC Utrecht, for instance by improving the speed, and offers support to involved colleagues through workshops and other means. U-TRIAL also seeks input from external parties, such as pharmaceutical companies, to continuously improve the trial process.

Costs

The costs of trials and the budget negotiations are also mentioned as areas for improvement. This is again a problem in the Netherlands – conducting research in the Netherlands is expensive. U-TRIAL is actively working on harmonizing and professionalizing the trial budget process within the hospital. Experts in trial methods provide guidance and advice on both the chosen research method and the associated costs. Having uniformity and clarity about this upfront ensures that time is saved and costs are minimized later on in the process – a significant improvement for both researchers and external parties.

The UMC Utrecht as partner in trial research

The pharmaceutical industry is satisfied about the collaboration with the UMC Utrecht. The UMC has a good reputation, has a large and relevant network, and the expertise in the hospital aligns well with the chosen indication areas. That said, there are areas for improvement. U-TRIAL works hard on addressing these challenges and further improving the clinical trial climate at the UMC Utrecht.

U-TRIAL, initiated by the Board of Directors (2017), stands for Utrecht Trial Innovation Alliance. U-TRIAL aides the UMC Utrecht’s mission: together, we improve people’s health and create the healthcare of tomorrow. To bring innovations to patients faster, high-quality innovative clinical trials are critical. U-TRIAL serves as the knowledge and expertise center of the UMC Utrecht for both established Principal Investigators (PIs) and young research talent (internally), as well as external stakeholders such as CROs, pharmaceutical companies, medical devices companies, and diagnostics companies. U-TRIAL is committed to strengthening the clinical trial climate within the UMC Utrecht.

Interested in how U-TRIAL can further assist you? Contact the team at u-trial@umcutrecht.nl.