tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80339563871107158502023-06-21T14:00:21.965+10:00Accessing Clinical ResearchClinical research is fundamental to the translation of new medical discoveries into new treatment options for the clinic. Raising awareness of clinical research through education and discussion tools such as this will help ensure a healthy clinical research industry, bringing ongoing and early access of new treatments to patients, and career alternatives for those with an interest in contributing to better health in the futureacrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-74590598139748820602007-11-21T07:34:00.000+11:002007-11-21T07:37:55.472+11:00Last PostWell, it has been a busy few weeks but my new website is created, so this will be my last post to this blog, but not the last time I blog. My new website has a blog where I will continue sharing my thoughts and adventures. Please visitwww.AccessCR.com.au for lots of information and resources for clinical research in Australia and New Zealand. I hope to hear from you there soon!Best regardsacrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-49731928135240095532007-11-08T12:54:00.000+11:002007-11-08T12:59:17.357+11:00Evidence standards for dietary supplementsThere was an article written on Medscape recently that called for the same standards of evidence to apply to dietary supplements as conventional medicines. As you might expect, many would consider this a contentious issue, and one that has been previously discussed on this blog. I thought you might be interested in the responses to this article on Medscape.http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-52989975218233052632007-11-01T13:34:00.001+11:002007-11-01T13:38:12.642+11:00And so for something positive....Coinciding with Research Australia's whirlwind country-wide promotion trip for 'Thank You Day' which acknowledges the efforts of medical researchers, the NHMRC yesterday launched a new book - Great minds in Australian research, which highlights the work of 10 of Australia’s most eminent medical researchers. Here's the press release if you're interested in learning more....http://www.nhmrc.gov.au:acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-5291719113924698582007-11-01T11:49:00.000+11:002007-11-01T13:08:24.732+11:00Drug promotion in developing countriesConsumers International this week released a report on pharmaceutical marketing practices in developing countries, with a call to better regulation of these practices. http://www.consumersinternational.org/. From reading the Consumers International report, that call is probably justified. It looks like there are some dodgy practices going on by some companies, which disappoints me, since I like acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-36861724827681807502007-10-31T09:49:00.000+11:002007-10-31T10:45:47.485+11:00A bit of a giggle remembering past PI'sThe ScienceBlogs weekly roundup this week highlighted a funny blog with a cartoon and reflections of the 9 types of PIs (principal investigators, the head honcho's of research projects). http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2007/10/what_kind_of_pi_am_i.phpFor my first job post university in a medical research institute, I had a PI that was part slave driver, control freak, science wonk and rising acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-14979933217707615382007-10-30T09:56:00.000+11:002007-10-30T10:05:00.267+11:00UK Standard CRO contractAustralia's not the only country trying to tackle the enormous inefficiencies created by trying to agree clinical trial contract between sponsors and individual institutions. But the UK is just one short step ahead of us, having released this week their standard CRO contract. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/86856.phpWith any luck, Australia will manage to tie up our single CRO contract acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-10358992436707637942007-10-22T13:06:00.000+10:002007-10-22T13:37:23.826+10:00Stories from China, India and Nigeria + reminder of ethicsHow quickly time has passed since the last entry. I avoided the election debate between our two fearless political leaders last night in favour of catching up with a former colleague visiting from the UK for an investigator meeting. Mind you, I ended the evening sitting on my balcony debating the pros and cons of each political party with my husband anyway, so not a completely politics free nightacrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-34451749658234322722007-10-17T10:54:00.000+10:002007-10-17T11:13:03.288+10:00Science can be more than labcoats and glassesThis is an interesting story for those struggling to recruit clinical research staff, about staff shortages in the UK: http://www.pharmatimes.com/ClinicalNews/ViewArticle.aspx?id=11972Anyone who has working in multiple countries will know this is a world-wide phenomena, and one that is likely to continue for some time, given the rapidly expanding clinical research environment, both in the acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-22203378143360765052007-10-17T10:45:00.001+10:002007-10-22T13:38:08.488+10:00Refining a chinese herb for breast cancer trialHere is an interesting article from TIME magazine just released on the challenge of converting chinese medicine into a product to be trialled...http://time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1671684,00.html?imw=YTime and patience...acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-49143657073367494722007-10-15T08:52:00.000+10:002007-10-15T09:27:04.733+10:00A long lost friend and challenges in CAM researchA long lost friend was in touch over the weekend to chat with me about my comments on research in CAM - complementary and alternative medicine. I met this friend, who I'll refer to as SA, while we were both progressing through the challenges of doing a PhD, although she was close to finishing as I was embarking on my journey. I always really enjoyed our conversations, as she was far more broadly acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-80533422883074496902007-10-15T07:30:00.000+10:002007-10-22T13:38:59.746+10:00China's 287 trials beats India's 270 trials, if clinicaltrials.gov is any indicationWhile my previous discussion of India remains true, it seems perhaps China is ahead of India in its efforts to attract clinical research investment.http://www.pharmatimes.com/ClinicalNews/ViewArticle.aspx?id=11947It will be interesting to see who wins the race, and how other countries manage to retain their share of the clinical research pie.acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-18126950515950822882007-10-11T12:19:00.000+10:002007-10-11T13:23:41.013+10:00Evidence based medicine - how does alternative medicine contribute?A couple of weeks ago I met a gentleman at a training event I attended and we got to talking about the businesses we were each in. This gentleman was a naturopath and became quite animated when I discussed my interest in clinical research. As can often be the case when you mention a background of working in the drug industry, I quickly found myself trying to defend the industry I've been a part acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-2558882538446903432007-10-11T10:11:00.000+10:002007-10-11T13:25:06.614+10:00It all Action in India!Over the last week, I have seen so many stories about big pharma operations in India. I can't help wondering if these are new news stories, or the Indian press is very good at highlighting the success India is having attracting and rapidly expanding a very active clinical research environment.Wyeth, GSK Plc., AstraZeneca Plc., Pfizer Inc. and Sanofi Aventis, are just a few of the big pharma acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-3819937264940329552007-09-26T16:33:00.000+10:002007-09-26T17:51:38.738+10:00Industry sponsorship of trialsIt's nice for a change to see a balanced discussion of industry-sponsored clinical trials... http://reason.com/news/show/122020.html.This article deliberates the pros and cons of industry sponsored research and the debate around conflict of interest vs . Coming from an industry background, it's nice not to be completely beat up for doing a job you hope will help people feel better in the future acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-27346454898338625592007-09-20T13:10:00.000+10:002007-09-20T13:26:32.622+10:00Pig cells in HumansJust because we can, should we?This is an interesting news article published today on a trial using pig cells to produce insulin in humans. http://www.themoscowtimes.com:80/stories/2007/09/20/017.htmlI imagine that the ethics committee in Russia must have had plenty to discuss when this proposal came across their desks, assuming the study underwent the same rigorous review procedure we would acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-7127779998445732302007-09-20T08:59:00.000+10:002007-09-20T09:43:03.870+10:00ABC New Inventors Program 19sep07 - EzyVein by Dr Dane HorsfallDid anyone happen to see the ABC (Australia) New Inventors Program last night? There was quite a neat little device, the EzyVein, invented by Dr Dane Horsfall, for improving the success of cannulising veins in difficult patients. Here's a link for anyone interested... http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2034774.htmI was pleased to see the panel refer to the process of clinical trialling acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-12483286614936121302007-09-20T08:40:00.000+10:002007-09-20T09:44:47.071+10:00An example of the need for clinical researchI came across an interesting blog today (http://blog.parentprojectmd.org/archives/2007/09/eye_exams_and_c.html) by someone affected by DMD (Duchene Muscular Dystrophy). To summarise, it reflected on the process of an eye exam and the desire that going to a doctor to find the right treatment for a medical condition was as easy. It made a couple of interesting points:"Clinical trials are not acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8033956387110715850.post-91138018210621941172007-09-18T15:22:00.000+10:002007-09-18T17:53:12.457+10:00Joining the 21st Century Community of BloggersI've done it... I've created a blog.For someone who is not technologically savvy, this has been a big hurdle for me to overcome. I'm a generation X-er, so not that old, but all the new ways to communicate and connect are proving a challenge to get my head around. Thank goodness for Small Business September, and a great seminar I attended yesterday with Laurel Papworth and the Women in Business acrmdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06904711032194823106noreply@blogger.com0