Along with the Paediatrics Service at the Hospital Donostia, IIS Biodonostia is collaborating in making the first Guide on Clinical Research Units in Paediatrics published in Spain.

Publishing this Guide falls under the BEST project, which includes public and private interest groups to create the Platform for Excellence in Clinical Medication Research in Spain. One of the aims in publishing this guide is to foment conducting clinical research trials in paediatrics.

The Guide on Clinical Research Units in Paediatrics meets and unmet need for a complete map of paediatric research teams in Spain. It also provides detailed information on the current situation for this type of research. The data collected is drawn from information from between January and July 2017, supplied by the heads of each one of the 30 Paediatric Research Units that collaborated on the project, including Biodonostia-Hospital Donostia.

In addition to other relevant data, the guide states that public centres have a total of 21 units, while 7 were created in private hospitals, and two at public-private centres. These units carried out a total of 2,123 participations in research studies over the past five years (of which 1,271 are participations in clinical trials over the past five years, 682 observational studies and 170 studies of their own research). 51% of the clinical trials conducted along with a pharmaceutical laboratory are phase III (where drugs are tested with a high number of patients, and compared with the standard treatment), while 33% are early phases, where the safety and efficacy of a new drug is tested with a limited number of patients.

The guide may be viewed online, both in Spanish and in English, on the Spanish Innovative Medication Technological Platform’s website, at the following link: Guide on Clinical Research Units in Paediatrics.