Global Partnerships

"This is not the beginning of the end; it is the end of the beginning."
WINSTON CHURCHILL

The appearance of new diseases — from AIDS to SARS — and the increased difficulty in treating traditional pathogens like influenza and cholera remind us that we must think globally.

We need to establish international partnerships to more effectively treat global diseases and share medical advances. CEPT has extended its collaborations in Latin America, China and other parts of the world specifically to meet this goal.

International efforts greatly expand our ability to answer questions, deploy specific probes of disease, evaluate new therapies, and contribute in areas where concern for humanity is dominant. For investigators in North and South America, CEPT is helping to launch the online and print InterAmerican Journal for Clinical Research. We also are initiating an e-conference room where clinical researchers all over the world can seek advice from experts, share information and discuss critical issues.

The Good Clinical Practice guidelines established under the leadership of the International Conference on Harmonization have given us the ability to conduct international trials with confidence in their merit and meaning, and to more easily gain international approval. This great advance also simplifies the process of identifying populations with a high incidence of a particular condition, specific genetic backgrounds or common environmental conditions.