Clinical Trials and Preclinical Infrastructure Asset Map - Life Sciences

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BRITISH COLUMBIA
INTRODUCTION
With its Province-wide single-payer government healthcare program and resulting uniform treatment
policies, B.C. is a hot bed for clinical trials. Its well-regarded teaching hospitals house many clinical
opinion leaders in various therapeutic areas, particularly in cancer; conditions of the central nervous
system (CNS); cardiology; cardiovascular, pulmonary and genitourinary diseases; infectious diseases;
pediatrics; and transplantation.
This Asset Map has been produced to facilitate new and ongoing medical product development
programs managed by local, national, and international organizations. It is a snapshot of B.C.’s
infrastructure and capabilities for clinical and, to a much lesser extent, preclinical studies. It includes an
analysis of industry-sponsored clinical trials, as well as those funded by peer-reviewed research grants,
that took place between April 2005 and March 2010.
The term “clinical trials” is used here to cover the testing and evaluation of interventions and diagnostic
or prognostic tests in clinical or community settings. Studies can involve the evaluation of therapeutics
or vaccines, medical devices and instruments (including diagnostics and biomarkers), rehabilitation
programs, and/or surgical, dietary, or psychological/ behavioural interventions in accordance with
Good Clinical Practice (GCP) regulations/ guidelines. They can range from “first human use” studies
(e.g., proof of concept, identification of mechanisms of pathophysiology or disease) 1 to post-marketing
surveillance. Social/ behavioural studies, such as childhood development, family dynamics, youth
behaviour, healthcare access, health and social services or policy, health education, health culture, and
health and safety are not defined as clinical trials and are not included in this report.
In today’s health care environment, the socioeconomic value of novel methods within the context of
the overall health care system is often included as part of clinical trials in the form of health economics
(including health technology assessment and/or health outcomes research). Epidemiology studies,
when combined with clinical research (new treatment options) and/ or interventions (lifestyle
modification) are also included in this Asset Map as clinical trials. Furthermore, clinical studies often
depend on other supporting infrastructure, such as technology and informatics expertise, health
surveillance facilities, and more basic clinical research. Information on all these supporting disciplines is
summarized in this report. B.C.’s wealth of research in disease etiology and the discovery and preclinical
development of therapeutic interventions or diagnostics is generally excluded from this report.
Information on some of this can be found in previous Asset Maps 2 .
As well as clinical trials facilities, the Province is also home to a number of organizations offering
preclinical services. These facilities can involve the chemical or engineering development,
characterization, purification, stability, and manufacturing of new medical products; the safety and
efficacy testing of pharmaceuticals in nonhuman systems, such as animals and cell cultures; and the
sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility testing of devices using relevant tissues or fluids. Such tests
are conducted in accordance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), and for manufacturing, Good
Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regulations.
1
Also known as Experimental Medicine.
2
www.investbc.ca/assetmaps.htm.