Infectious diseases pose a serious threat to global health and economies. Common infections caused by known pathogens have a large impact on societies around the world, especially vulnerable patient groups, leaving much ground to win by improving diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic strategies. The rise of antimicrobial resistance, with strains resistance to existing treatments appearing at an increasing rate, has further complicated efforts.
At the same time, the potential impact of (re)emerging new/unknown pathogens has been amplified by global trends such as population growth, increases in trade and travel, urbanisation, deforestation, and climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed serious shortcomings in Europe’s fragmented clinical research response that result in inefficiencies and delays society can no longer accept.
The ECRAID-Base project was developed to overcome (some of) these problems. It is intended to implement the core set of activities of Ecraid – a pan-European ‘warm-base’ clinical research network for infectious diseases. Over the five-year duration of ECRAID-Base, Ecraid will be established as a self-sustaining, not-for-profit organisation conducting clinical research with both public and private sponsors.
At the heart of Ecraid’s approach is a ‘warm-base’ clinical trial network developed under two previous EC-funded projects, COMBACTE and PREPARE. It encompasses over 2,000 sites in more than 40 European countries, including primary care settings (general practitioners), hospital settings (emergency rooms and intensive care units), paediatric care settings, diagnostic laboratories and long-term care facilities. With this clinical research network, Ecraid aims to innovate clinical trial methodology and to conduct trials faster and more cost-effective.
As part of ECRAID-Base, five perpetual observational studies and one adaptive platform trial tackle serious medical conditions, such as complicated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, community-acquired pneumonia, acute respiratory infections, and unexplained febrile illness. Unlike conventional trials, these studies are able to accommodate new research questions related to diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the named infections throughout their duration, preparing this ‘warm-base’ to respond efficiently, especially during outbreaks and pandemics.
