European Vision Institute creates basis for common standards in multicenter clinical trials

VIENNA, Austria — The EVI.CT.SE network of clinical trial centers, founded in 2003, is increasingly becoming a major reference point for vision scientists, research institutes, ophthalmic industries and patient organizations, José Cunha-Vaz, MD, PhD, said at the Euretina Congress here.

The EVI.CT.SE organization, which stands for European Vision Institute, Clinical Trials, Sites of Excellence, is principally aimed at creating the basis for common standards in the performance of multicenter clinical trials and in daily eye care delivery. Clinical trial site members must fulfill the requirements of the network, namely by having adequate infrastructures, equipment and qualified staff and following the European and international directives for clinical trial research. The network presently has 45 clinical site members; 28 are already certified and 17 are in the certification process. Twenty more centers are candidates for membership.

The EVI.CT.SE network is a crucial step forward in providing patients with the best standards of care in terms of safety and efficacy.

"In the era of evidence-based medicine, it is mandatory to fund our practice on the validated and reliable results coming from multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trials," Dr. Cunha-Vaz said.

By improving the quality and efficiency of clinical research in Europe and facilitating international clinical trials, the EVI.CT.SE will increase standards of research, care and public health services and will increase the competitiveness of Europe, he noted.

"We hope [for] some kind of support from the European Union, which has recently included sense organ disorders in the list of priorities in its 2008-2013 public health program," Dr. Cunha-Vaz said.