Organisation of clinical research in France: the new missions of inter-regional delegations for clinical research

The organisation of clinical research in French teaching hospitals has been profoundly modified over the past 15 years. The first call for clinical research projects was made by the Ministry of Health in 1993. This Hospital Program for Clinical Research was created by the public welfare system, a situation unique in Europe and the USA at the time. Every year since 1993, new clinical research projects have been supported through this program. In 2007, more than 14 million euros was provided for clinical research in oncology more than 21 million euros for clinical research in other fields, and more than 11 million euros through interregional grants. Overall, more than 50 million euros will be provided in 2008 to support clinical research with public sponsorship in French teaching hospitals. Major organisational changes were made to support this unprecedented financial effort in favor of clinical research. In each of the 29 French teaching hospitals, a Delegation for Clinical Research (DRC) was created to promote public sponsorship of clinical trials, to monitor these trials, to guarantee that Good Clinical Practices are respected, and to control the financial aspects of research projects. Clinical Research Assistants were recruited by DRC to monitor clinical trials. Clinical Investigation Centers (CIC) were organized in conjunction with teaching hospitals and with the French biomedical research council (INSERM). Today, there are 54 CICs located in 23 teaching hospitals, conducting clinical trials and other research in epidemiology and biotechnology. In May 2005, seven interregional delegations for clinical research (DIRC) were created to coordinate these activities on a regional basis. The aim was to improve scientific collaboration between teaching hospitals in a given region, to organize the training of clinical investigators and technicians, and to support the development of clinical trial monitoring, quality assurance, and pharmacovigilance. A 2006 survey of clinical trials sponsored by the drug industry in France showed that, by comparison to 2004, the number of patients enrolled had fallen. The mean rate of enrolments per investigator was lower than the European average (1.4 patients per month versus 1.7 in Europe as a whole), and the time necessary to organize hospital-based clinical trials was excessive (140 days). Given the globalisation of clinical trials and the increasing competition among countries, these weaknesses could have had deleterious co