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Török ME, Underwood BR, Toshner M, Waddington C, Sidhom E, Sharrocks K, Bousfield R, Summers C, Saunders C, McIntyre Z, Morris H, Piper J, Calderon G, Dennis S, Assari T, de Rotrou AM, Shaw A, Bradley J, O’Brien J, Rintoul RC, Smith I, Bullmore E, Chatterjee K. Challenges and opportunities for conducting a vaccine trial during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Clin Trials 2021; 18:615-621. [PMID: 34154428 PMCID: PMC8479147 DOI: 10.1177/17407745211024764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges for healthcare systems worldwide. It has also stimulated research in a wide range of areas including rapid diagnostics, novel therapeutics, use of technology to track patients and vaccine development. Here, we describe our experience of rapidly setting up and delivering a novel COVID-19 vaccine trial, using clinical and research staff and facilities in three National Health Service Trusts in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. We encountered and overcame a number of challenges including differences in organisational structures, research facilities available, staff experience and skills, information technology and communications infrastructure, and research training and assessment procedures. We overcame these by setting up a project team that included key members from all three organisations that met at least daily by teleconference. This group together worked to identify the best practices and procedures and to harmonise and cascade these to the wider trial team. This enabled us to set up the trial within 25 days and to recruit and vaccinate the participants within a further 23 days. The lessons learned from our experiences could be used to inform the conduct of clinical trials during a future infectious disease pandemic or public health emergency.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Estée Török
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Departments of Infectious Diseases & Microbiology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Public Health England, Clinical Microbiology and Public Health Laboratory, Cambridge, UK
| | - Benjamin R Underwood
- Windsor Research Unit, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Gnodde Goldman Sachs Translational Neuroscience Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Mark Toshner
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK
| | - Claire Waddington
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Departments of Infectious Diseases & Microbiology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Emad Sidhom
- Windsor Research Unit, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Gnodde Goldman Sachs Translational Neuroscience Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Katherine Sharrocks
- Departments of Infectious Diseases & Microbiology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Public Health England, Clinical Microbiology and Public Health Laboratory, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rachel Bousfield
- Departments of Infectious Diseases & Microbiology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Public Health England, Clinical Microbiology and Public Health Laboratory, Cambridge, UK
| | - Charlotte Summers
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- John V Farman Intensive Care Unit, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Caroline Saunders
- NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility, Cambridge Clinical Research Centre, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Zoe McIntyre
- Office for Translational Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Helen Morris
- NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility, Cambridge Clinical Research Centre, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jo Piper
- NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility, Cambridge Clinical Research Centre, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Gloria Calderon
- Windsor Research Unit, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sarah Dennis
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tracy Assari
- Research & Development Department, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Ashley Shaw
- Medical Director’s Office, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - John Bradley
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Research & Development Department, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK
| | - John O’Brien
- Gnodde Goldman Sachs Translational Neuroscience Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robert C Rintoul
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ian Smith
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ed Bullmore
- Gnodde Goldman Sachs Translational Neuroscience Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Krishna Chatterjee
- NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility, Cambridge Clinical Research Centre, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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McLaren D, Gorba T, Marguerie de Rotrou A, Pillai G, Chappell C, Stacey A, Lingard S, Falk A, Smith A, Koch P, Brüstle O, Vickers R, Tinsley J, Flanders D, Bello P, Craig S. Automated large-scale culture and medium-throughput chemical screen for modulators of proliferation and viability of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuroepithelial-like stem cells. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 18:258-68. [PMID: 23042076 DOI: 10.1177/1087057112461446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to demonstrate proof-of-concept feasibility for the use of human neural stem cells (NSCs) for high-throughput screening (HTS) applications. For this study, an adherent human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived long-term, self-renewing, neuroepithelial-like stem (lt-NES) cell line was selected as a representative NSC. Here, we describe the automated large-scale serum-free culture ("scale-up") of human lt-NES cells on the CompacT SelecT cell culture robotic platform, followed by their subsequent automated "scale-out" into a microwell plate format. We also report a medium-throughput screen of 1000 compounds to identify modulators of neural stem cell proliferation and/or survival. The screen was performed on two independent occasions using a cell viability assay with end-point reading resulting in the identification of 24 potential hit compounds, 5 of which were found to increase the proliferation and/or survival of human lt-NES on both occasions. Follow-up studies confirmed a dose-dependent effect of one of the hit compounds, which was a Cdk-2 modulator. This approach could be further developed as part of a strategy to screen compounds to either improve the procedures for the in vitro expansion of neural stem cells or to potentially modulate endogenous neural stem cell behavior in the diseased nervous system.
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