Open doors for research
Farmaindustria is leading a project to bring clinical trials to primary care to help decentralise this strategy.
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‘Transforming primary care through clinical trials’ was the title of the meeting organised by the National Business Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry, Farmaindustria, together with LA OPINIÓN-EL CORREO DE ZAMORA. The event was attended by Amelia Martín Uranga, Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Department of Farmaindustria; Sonia Martín Pérez, Director General of Health Planning, Research and Innovation of the Ministry of Health of the Regional Government of Castilla y León, and Luis García Ortiz, Scientific Director of the Biomedical Research Institute of Salamanca (IBSAL).
The moderator of this round table of experts was Luis Garrido Herrero, editor-in-chief of LA OPINIÓN-EL CORREO DE ZAMORA, who introduced the subject by acknowledging that, although Spain is a leading country in clinical trials, most of them are carried out in hospitals, with only 8% being developed in Primary Care, a percentage which Farmaindustria wants to turn around with a strategic project that will benefit doctors and patients.
“A ’country project
Amelia Martín described this Farmaindustria programme as a ‘country project’, given that the aim is to reach all corners of the country, making it an ‘opportunity for patients to bring these studies closer to their territories, with better access to clinical trial activity, given that, at the moment, more than 50% of clinical research is carried out in Madrid and Catalonia’, she said.
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The benefits of this research in primary care include very close doctor-patient care. ‘The professional has all their clinical history, knows their diseases at the earliest stages and, without a doubt, it is an opportunity, because the industry is very committed to research in Spain,’ he said, alluding to the fact that, of the 1,395 million in investment in 2022, 60% went to clinical trials.
Adding capacities
Sonia Martín Pérez expressed herself along the same lines, recalling the Strategic Plan for Health Research and Innovation 2023-2027 approved by the Castilla y León Regional Government, which is in line with the strategy of the pharmaceutical industry. ‘In terms of efficacy, we add more capacities, because we contemplate many more professionals with critical research mass that could participate in these projects and, secondly, in the process of patient care we can advance this research to previous phases, such as early detection, taking this research to primary prevention, with an early response with therapies to treat in early stages,’ she argued.
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For his part, Luis García Ortiz, from IBSAL, explained how this research could benefit patients in the field of primary care. ‘On the one hand, they would have access to new drugs a little before they hit the market. On the other hand, when someone enters a study, they are evaluated and monitored more strictly than usual, so the patient feels more protected. And finally, there is the satisfaction of having contributed to the advancement of science,’ he said.
Different contacts
Regarding the essential public-private collaboration needed to develop this project, Farmaindustria‘s director of the Clinical and Translational Research department said that these contacts have been very intense over the last year with different communities. ‘Some of them have already established a network for the promotion of these services in primary care and most of them welcome it with great satisfaction, because, from the point of view of health professionals, it also helps to retain and attract talent in the territory,’ she said.
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Martín Uranga underlined this connection between all the agents involved -institutions and the private sector- in order to carry out a research strategy ‘and achieve an adequate transfer’. In this sense, he pointed to the identification of ‘priority’ lines of research in each community. In the case of Castilla y León, he pointed to aspects related to gerontology and recalled the increase in investment for research projects in the current legislature.
Several cities
In this sense, he pointed out that the provision of a ‘solid structure for research activity’ should not be overlooked either, hence the creation of health research centres in the Community, which are already a reality in Salamanca and Valladolid, with forthcoming openings in León and Burgos.
The third leg of this support for research by the regional administration is based on a set of actions linked to the operational field, ‘providing tools, instruments, contracts or agreements with robust databases, which is completed with talent, supported by appropriate training and developing forums for meetings and collaborations,’ he suggested.
Conscious professionals
When asked about the motivation of researchers, the scientific director of the Biomedical Research Institute of Salamanca pointed out the three lines of work of healthcare professionals: care, teaching and research. All professionals are aware that the latter ‘has an important weight in their curriculum, so this may be one of their motivations. In addition, it provides them with methodology and rigour when developing projects, because these trials are very structured and strict, so it serves as a learning experience for future projects,’ he said.
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Amelia Martín added that research should be valued in medical careers, adding that the funds allocated to these projects also help to provide new infrastructures, as well as the recruitment of new staff and the attraction and retention of talent. ‘Clinical trials generate income for the centres and savings for the health system,’ he said.
Research programmes
With several examples of successful research programmes in Spain, Martín Uranga said that the country is going through an ‘optimal moment’ to give a message to young people ‘who often do not choose primary care as a speciality, but with this type of project, such as the one we are presenting, they are given the opportunity to carry out research and a roadmap is set out in which doctors, nurses and other professionals are fundamental for clinical research’, he concluded.
