NorCRIN and NorTrials – What’s the Difference?
If you work with clinical trials, you may have heard of NorCRIN and NorTrials. But do you know the difference between the two organisations and the areas in which they collaborate?
Signe Øien Fretland, Head of NorTrials Coordinating Unit
Ellen Johnsen, Special Advisor for Research Support at Oslo University Hospital, NorTrials Coordinator (20%) and Head of NorCRIN Work Package 12, Industry Collaboration
NorCRIN
NorCRIN (Norwegian Clinical Research Infrastructure Network) was established in 2012 as a collaboration between the research support units at the six Norwegian university hospitals. During the periods 2015–2020 (NorCRIN 1) and 2020–2025 (NorCRIN 2), the network has received funding for research infrastructure from the Research Council of Norway.
NorCRIN primarily offers services to researchers and others involved in clinical trials at Norwegian hospitals. Its purpose is to improve the quality of research and establish common national procedures. The main focus is on "academic" trials, i.e. trials where a hospital or another non-commercial institution is the primary initiator/sponsor. Such trials may also receive contributions from industry, for example in the form of free medication or funds for implementation, but the industry does not have a formal role in the trial’s execution.
NorCRIN develops and maintains national procedures to ensure national harmonisation, enhance research quality, and simplify research collaboration between hospitals. The NorCRIN partners run numerous courses, including in GCP (Good Clinical Practice), national courses for clinical research nurses, and courses in patient involvement. They also provide advice and services throughout all stages of a clinical trial. Examples of advisory services include protocol review, assistance with applications, data collection, statistics, and adverse event reporting. Operational services provided by NorCRIN partners can include setting up data collection tools, monitoring, and statistics. These services are charged to the trial.
NorCRIN is organised with a board, expert advisory group, user advisory group, secretariat, and work packages. NorCRIN represents Norway in ECRIN (European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network).
NorTrials
NorTrials was established as part of the National Action Plan for Clinical Trials 2021–2025 (Ministry of Health and Care Services) and is funded through the national budget. NorTrials is a mutually binding partnership between the regional health authorities and the industry.
The aim of NorTrials is to make Norway more attractive for clinical trials of drugs and medical devices on behalf of the industry, and thereby also provide better opportunities for Norwegian patients to participate in such trials. NorTrials works to attract more trials to Norway, increase the capacity for clinical trials, and improve the infrastructure for clinical trials within the healthcare system.
Six NorTrials centres have been established, one at each of the six university hospitals. The areas of expertise have been chosen in collaboration with the industry: cancer, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, clinical immunology, and brain health, in addition to a separate centre for medical devices. NorTrials also finances positions for study staff, which are allocated through the regional health authorities.
The NorTrials Coordinating Unit offers advice to non-university hospitals that need assistance to get started with clinical trials or wish to improve their procedures. For the industry, the Coordinating Unit has established a service for reviewing Norwegian consent forms before submission to the authorities.
NorTrials serves as a common entry point for companies that wish to conduct clinical trials in Norway. Inquiries can be submitted via the NorTrials feasibility portal and forwarded to hospitals that may be interested in conducting trials in the relevant area. NorTrials can also respond to more general inquiries, such as whether a trial is suitable for implementation in Norway.
NorTrials is organised with a board, project manager, coordinating unit, six NorTrials centres, and an advisory group.
Collaboration
The report "Establishment of NorTrials" (2021) states that a mutually binding collaboration should be established between NorTrials and NorCRIN, especially Work Package 12, Industry Collaboration (WP12). NorCRIN and NorTrials maintain close contact, for instance, the head of the NorTrials Coordinating Unit presents updates from NorTrials at all WP12 meetings, and the head of WP12 holds a joint position as coordinator in the NorTrials Coordinating Unit.
NorCRIN and NorTrials collaborate on the development of courses and training focused on industry-initiated clinical trials and industry collaboration. To identify training needs, two surveys on competence requirements were conducted (in 2023 and 2025). Based on the responses, we have developed the e-learning course "Introduction to Clinical Trials", specifically aimed at hospital management/staff who do not work directly with clinical trials but need some basic knowledge on the subject. Mor courses are in the planning stage.
| NorCRIN | NorTrials | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Strengthen quality and capacity in academic clinical research | Increase the number of industry-initiated clinical trials in Norway |
| Target Group | Researchers at university and local hospitals, academic environments | Pharmaceutical and medical device industry, trial staff at university and local hospitals |
| Organisation | Network between university hospitals, shared secretariat | Public-private partnership, with representatives from both parties on the board. Six specialty-specific research centres, a coordinating unit, and an advisory group |
| Services | Support for researchers in the form of advice, monitoring, data handling, statistics. Develops national procedures. | Feasibility portal, industry contact point, support for investigators and trial staff |
| International Collaboration | Member of ECRIN (European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network) |
Promotes Norway as a clinical trial destination to the international health sector Collaboration with Innovation Norway |
| Collaboration between NorCRIN and NorTrials | Infrastructure and expertise that NorTrials builds upon | Uses NorCRIN's templates and support functions. Close contact between WP12 and NorTrials Coordinating Unit |
| Focus Areas | Academic research and national research infrastructure | Efficient execution of industry-initiated clinical trials in Norway |
The table was created using Microsoft Copilot and the article text translated from Norwegian using ChatGPT. Both were reviewed and edited by the authors.