One-stop portal to bring clinical trials closer to public health in Singapore

By Si Ying Thian

The Singapore Clinical Research Institute (SCRI) has launched a centralised portal, Clinicaltrials.sg (CTSG), which aims to make it easier for patients and caregivers to understand and enrol in trials.

Ministry of Health, Singapore's Prof Kenneth Mark, Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation Singapore (CRIS)'s Prof John Lim, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT)'s Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, and CRIS' Prof Danny Soon at the launch of the centralised clinical trials portal CTSG. (left to right). Image: CRIS.

Before Clinicaltrials.sg (CTSG), patients would go to the individual websites of healthcare and research institution to access information about clinical trials and how to enroll in them.

The centralised portal will serve as a one-stop resource hub for patients and caregivers. It also aims to bolster clinical research opportunities and collaborations between researchers, academics and industry partners.

Clinicaltrials.sg (CTSG) was launched by Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Research Foundation Singapore, Mr Heng Swee Keat, who was the Guest-of-Honour at the symposium. Image: SCRI's LinkedIn.

The portal is led by Singapore Clinical Research Institute (SCRI), the national academic research organisation established under the Ministry of Health. It was launched at SCRI’s inaugural Clinical Trials Symposium on July 30.

Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Research Foundation (NRF) Heng Swee Keat, pointed to the public health impact of clinical trials at the launch event for the new site.

“As we look to proactively address the health challenges of tomorrow, the key question we must ask ourselves is how can we make better use of clinical trials to build a future of longer lifespans and health spans for our societies?” said DPM Heng.

Clinical trials explore novel therapies to improve outcomes for patients who do not respond to existing treatment, and hold potential for preventative healthcare management and healthy ageing.

Partnering clinicians for patient outreach

Speaking to GovInsider, SCRI’s Executive Director, Dr Danny Soon, shared that the team consulted with clinicians, patients and patient advocacy groups on the portal’s usability.

It took SCRI about nine months to develop the portal and it remains a “work in progress”, especially when it comes to user experience.

*Screenshot of the trial listing page. Image: CTSG.*

Currently, the portal has a search engine for users to filter trials based on specific health conditions, making it easier to find relevant trials quickly. The trial listing is updated monthly.

“The next stage for us is to proliferate in the ecosystem more. So, we’re looking for opportunities to share the assets in departmental staff meetings in hospitals to make sure there is some more understanding of this portal,” he explained.

While the portal caters to different stakeholders in the ecosystem, members of the public and smaller biotech startups are most likely to benefit from this portal, Dr Soon said.

There are already existing channels and networks for clinical trial sponsors and investigators, especially among big pharmaceutical companies, he adds.

Dr Soon added the team hopes to use the portal as a means of public education.

Before patients self-enroll themselves in a trial, he explained the importance of seeking medical advice from their doctors to find out their suitability and clarifying the technical terms of the trial.

Collaboration hub to tackle industry painpoints

Two novel therapies for breast cancer and hypertension have been reviewed and approved in Thailand and Malaysia, but not in Singapore – and the trials have not even been conducted, said Dr Soon in his presentation at the launch event.

*Ministry of Health's Kenneth Mak spoke about the importance of building a robust infrastructure to conduct clinical trials. Image: SCRI's LinkedIn.*

Dr Soon added that such countries have drawn a lot of interest from the industry, and this was a “wakeup call to get things right.”

Data from the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore (HSA) found that applications to run clinical trials in Singapore have decreased over the last couple of years.

In SCRI’s engagement with the industry, they found slow and fragmented processes, slow feasibility assessments, and a lack of resources for trial setup and operations have been painpoints for the industry.

Through the new portal, SCRI aims to strengthen collaborations between researchers, academic and industry partners in clinical research.

The portal will include details on regulatory and ethics requirements for trials, available research grants in Singapore, training opportunities, and a directory of clinical research service providers.

A biorepository resource will also be made available through the portal, which consolidates local and overseas specimens, among other data tailored for cardiovascular, oncology and other scientific studies.

To tackle the slow and fragmented negotiations, SCRI and its partners, including the three public healthcare clusters, had previously set up the Master Clinical Trial Agreement (MCTA), a standardised template that reduces the time from negotiation to contract for trials.