Aims and features of the Alliance

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Why have we established the UHCT Alliance?

The drug-approval process in Japan is far behind and the number of the approved drugs is far less than in other countries in the world. This lag has made it difficult for Japanese doctors to catch up with the global standards for the treatment of various diseases. This problem should be solved immediately.

To overcome the drug lag and have a new drug approved without delay in Japan, it is mandatory to join multi-national clinical trials and apply for approval of a drug using the results. Therefore, several university hospitals with excellent performance in clinical trials have established UHCT Alliance to improve the trial environment, especially for multi-national trials, and to implement them more efficiently and safely.

The activities of UHCT Alliance are as follows:

  1. We announce our activities and performance domestically as well as internationally.
  2. We invite multi-national clinical trials to Japan and manage the progress of trials among the members of the UHCT Alliance.
  3. We continue to improve our environment to ensure more efficient and safer clinical trials.
  4. We provide continuing education in clinical trial methods to investigators and clinical research coordinators (CRCs).
  5. We inform the general population about clinical trials in Japan.
  6. We work together on these activities.

 

What are the outstanding features of the UHCT Alliance?

  • The Alliance is a relatively homogeneous group; all the members have well-organized clinical trial environments, as well as outstanding performance in trials.
  • All members have experience with multi-national clinical trials.
  • The Alliance possesses a large pool of patients - 5,860 beds and 13,300 out-patients per day. We have specialists in various diseases.
  • Initial inquiry about the eligibility of patients can be answered by the Alliance office within 1 week, which saves significant time.
  • Cooperative meetings are available using a video-conference system. Sponsors can explain their protocols and discuss common problems with all participants at one time without the necessity for travel to a single site.
  • Standardized documents and forms have been created for your convenience.
  • Highly experienced in-house CRCs will support clinical trials in all the hospitals.
  • We are ready for emergencies: ER and ICU facilities are available in all the participating hospitals 365 days a year.
  • We can collaborate with sponsors in the early stages of protocol development (e.g., confirmation of protocols and screening of patients).

 

The concept of Logotype of UHCT Alliance


Our logotype indicates growth of people, our organization and medicine.