Today, many clinical research projects need to be run at the international level in order to be successful. Such projects are challenging, so finding the right partner and having a professional infrastructure are crucial for project planning and implementation. This applies to studies performed in academia as well as industry-sponsored studies.

At the SCTO, we coordinate services and study centres in Switzerland and in Europe. Coordinating multicentre studies is one of the key objectives of our collaboration with the European Research Infrastructure Network (ECRIN). In multicentre studies, a researcher usually makes the initial contact directly with researchers in other hospitals; however, we can liaise if desired.

Partnering with the Swiss Research Network of Clinical Pediatric Hubs (SwissPedNet), we also support the development of new or optimised medical treatments and diagnostic procedures for children and adolescents. In addition, we coordinate the necessary contacts in Switzerland.

The SCTO itself does not offer services for the operational implementation of trials. Such services are provided by the Clinical Trial Unit (CTU) Network.

In line with our ultimate goal of supporting the successful development of new therapies and improving existing treatments, we established the SCTO Platforms in 2017. These eight platforms are to serve as centres of excellence. Here too, we liaise with and between these individual platforms and support them in their activities.