NorTrials Center Leaders Meeting: – We Excel at So Much, and We Need to Showcase It

Leaders, study coordinators, and research nurses from all six NorTrials centers gathered at the Radisson Hotel at Gardermoen on Tuesday afternoon. The meeting was organized by the coordinating unit of NorTrials, led by Signe Fretland.

"The goal of meeting in person is to share experiences so far, highlight success stories, and get to know each other better. We also need to identify what we should do more of and what we should do less of going forward. None of us fully knew what we were getting into when we started three years ago, so the path has emerged as we’ve walked it – and I think you’ve all done an excellent job," said Fretland.

The centers engaged in a long and productive discussion on several topics, including the status of national specialist networks, handling industry inquiries, marketing the centers, presence at international conferences, and, most importantly, sharing success stories.

Norway has many advantages that make it attractive for industry-sponsored clinical trials.

Success Stories from NorTrials:

• Establishment of national networks within each specialty. These networks include hospitals with relevant investigators as contact points, and also specific networks for research coordinators and study nurses. The NorTrials center for medical devices at St. Olavs Hospital has developed an extensive network of testbeds for device trials.
• Positive ripple effects at the university hospitals hosting the NorTrials centers. These effects extend to multiple therapy areas, increasing awareness of clinical research and strengthening research support at the hospitals.
• Professional updates for the healthcare system and greater awareness of upcoming developments through regular pipeline meetings with industry, organized by the NorTrials centers.
• Collaboration across NorTrials centers, particularly between the medical device center and the five other centers focused more on pharmaceuticals.
• Hosting of 10 international meetings across five specialty areas, where Norwegian clinicians and international industry representatives have made valuable connections.
• The NorTrials medical device center has also actively participated in numerous international conferences to present the public-private partnership and Norway’s infrastructure for the development and testing of medical devices.
• Extensive collaboration with international stakeholders, including a visit to Denmark for knowledge exchange with the national networks of Trial Nation.
• Professional seminars and courses developed by the NorTrials centers to increase competence and lower the threshold for collaboration between regions and hospitals.  

“We Need to Meet More Often”

In the final part of the meeting, outgoing NorTrials Chair Terje Rootwelt (CEO of Helse Sør-Øst RHF) joined, along with board representatives Anders Flatla (LMI), Anders Milch (Melanor), and Ina Dahlsveen, Senior Advisor for Research, Development, and Innovation at LMI. They addressed some of the questions raised earlier in the day, particularly around how the industry is now using artificial intelligence to make strategic decisions about participating countries.

Both the board representatives and center leaders agreed that the key to solving many challenges is more communication – more often and more directly.

"We should create more meeting arenas like this and foster more direct contact between the industry and clinicians. That’s something we need to plan for," said Anders Flatla, LMI’s representative on the board.

The article was translated from Norwegian to English using ChatGPT and edited by Ingrid Bånerud.