The WHO releases “Guidance for best practices for clinical trials” incorporating Collaborative principles
London, Thursday 26 September 2024
The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday released its “Guidance for best practices for clinical trials”, which incorporates the principles established by the Good Clinical Trials Collaborative.
This marks a significant step forward in ensuring that clinical trials worldwide best meet the needs of current and future patients and provide the evidence needed to inform the delivery of high-quality healthcare.
As described in the Collaborative’s guidance and emphasised by the WHO, good clinical trials:
- Are designed to produce scientifically sound answers to relevant questions
- Respect the rights and well-being of participants
- Are collaborative and transparent
- Are designed to be feasible for their context
- Manage trial quality effectively and efficiently
The Collaborative’s guidance was developed through an inclusive and consultative process, bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders, including patient representatives, healthcare professionals, regulatory authorities, academia and industry leaders.
This comprehensive approach ensured that the guidance reflects the needs and perspectives of all those involved in clinical research, particularly the patients who are at the heart of this work.
The collaborative nature of this process underscores the credibility and robustness of its recommendations, which now serve as a critical reference point for the WHO’s new guidance.
“We are delighted to see the WHO adopt guidance that is so closely based on the work of the Good Clinical Trials Collaborative,” said Nick Medhurst, Head of the Good Clinical Trials Collaborative.
“This is an important statement of intent for improving global health, and it reaffirms the importance of designing and delivering clinical trials that are ethical, inclusive and focused on generating valuable evidence to improve health outcomes.
“The Collaborative’s guidance was developed through working extensively alongside stakeholders from all relevant sectors, and we believe this approach has been vital in creating a set of recommendations that are truly fit for purpose in today’s complex research landscape.”
The WHO’s adoption of these guidelines should further strengthen the integrity and impact of clinical trials worldwide, ensuring that they serve the global public health community and ultimately lead to better healthcare outcomes for all.
Reflecting on the significance of these developments, Senior Lead at the Good Clinical Trials Collaborative and CEO at Protas, Prof Sir Martin Landray, said: “This new guidance by the WHO emphasises the key underlying principles of good clinical trials – principles that enable the generation of reliable evidence about the effects of treatments and can drive improvements in health worldwide.”
You can find out more and watch a recording of the WHO’s launch webinar here: Launch of guidance for best practices for clinical trials (who.int)
