May 20, 2020 — Today is International Clinical Research Day. The date, established to sensitize society about the importance of clinical studies, is celebrated in the face of the most serious health emergency in recent history.

Due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus, there is a global effort at unprecedented speed to discover a vaccine, drugs and diagnostics that help to stop the effects of the pandemic. Science is taking center stage and will certainly emerge stronger from this sad episode.

In Brazil, however, much progress is still needed to achieve international standards in the development of clinical research.

According to the 2019 publication “The importance of Clinical Research for Brazil” by INTERFARMA (Pharmaceutical Research Industry Association), while Brazil is among the top ten positions in the global population, GDP and pharmaceutical market rankings, it ranks 24th in terms of participation in clinical studies, which represents a drop of seven positions in ten years.

The two most researched therapeutic areas in the world, according to the entity, are Oncology and the Central Nervous System (CNS), together representing 42% of all studies initiated in 2018.

According to the director of Lacog (Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group), oncologist Dr. Carlos Barrios, there are around 70,000 experiments underway worldwide with cancer patients, where different treatments are being tested. Around 45% are conducted in the United States, 25% in Europe and only 2% in Latin America.

The oncologist lists several barriers to the development of research in Brazil: insufficient resources, bureaucracy in public agencies, the need for more research centers, and the lack of information from the population about the importance of experiments.

In recent years, there has been greater concern on the part of regulatory and ethical authorities to accelerate the approval time of protocols, so that deadlines in Brazil are more aligned with those in other countries, Barrios points out. Bill 7082/17, which includes new regulations for the area, is also pending before the Chamber of Deputies.

According to the doctor, with Covid-19, Conep (National Research Ethics Commission) has demonstrated that greater agility is possible in issuing opinions. The agency created digital cameras and approved 253 experiments by May 11, in a record period.

Another relevant aspect, in the opinion of the oncologist, is the lack of information. “When people understand the importance of research, they want to participate in the process,” she says.

According to him, only a minority fails to sign the consent form, a document containing information about everything that will occur in the clinical study. “This shows that the informed patient is someone who collaborates because they feel that the process is something positive for them.”

For Dr. Barrios, the Cura Project has a great mission, which is to generate knowledge in society about the importance of research. “May citizens be proud to say that they participated in a research project,” he concludes.