OECD urges harmonization of clinical trial regulations to boost medical R&D

Increasingly complex and inconsistent clinical trial regulations are causing delays, raising costs and leading to a decline in the number of international trials conducted by academics for non-commercial purposes. In the European Union alone, the number of applications for clinical trials fell by 25% between 2007 and 2011.

To boost medical research and help regulators overcome this problem, the global economic forum the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is calling on its member governments to harmonize their clinical trial approval processes. The aim is to encourage international collaboration in clinical research and streamline procedures for conducting clinical trials.

Doing so will open up research in treatments that are driven by pressing public health needs but which currently offer few financial rewards for private companies. This is the case for rare diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, and medical conditions for which treatments are not profitable, such as some pediatric diseases, or pathologies in developing countries.