The National Center for Global Health and Medicine and the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham andWomen's Hospital and Harvard have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation.

June 13, 2022
National Center for Global Health and Medicine
Center for Clinical Sciences
On January 19, 2022, the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (President: Norihiro Kokudo) (NCGM)
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women's
Hospital and Harvard (Faculty Director: Professor Barbara E Bierer) (The MRCT Center). In addition, an online
MOU signing ceremony was held on May 20, 2022, in which participants expressed their expectations for further
cooperation in the future.
The MRCT Center is a research and policy center associated with two of the world's most respected names inhealthcare and academia: Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard University. Their multidisciplinary teams
collaborate to identify challenges and deliver ethical, actionable, and practical solutions for the global clinical
trial enterprise, with a focus on emerging economies. Their efforts have resulted in improved clinical research
practices, greater transparency, clearer communication, increased focus on diversity and inclusion, andimproved safety for research participants. They function as an independent convening group to bring together
collaborative multidisciplinary teams to identify expert stakeholders from industry, academia, patient advocacy
groups, nonprofit organizations, and regulatory agencies to address critical issues in the conduct and oversightof clinical trials. They engage patients and participants throughout all stages of our work.
The MRCT Center has developed the Joint Task Force for Clinical Trial Competency (JTF) Framework for ClinicalResearch Professionals (1), which defines the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of clinical research professionals
needed to conduct safe and high-quality clinical research. It is used to educate clinical research professionals,
develop and revise job descriptions, conduct performance evaluations, among other uses. It has been translated
into multiple languages and is utilized worldwide. NCGM, in collaboration with Osaka University and the National
Cancer Center Japan, translated the competencies into Japanese and published the translation in 2019 (2).
Established under the leadership of NCGM, ARISE (3) has developed an international collaborative clinicalresearch network in Asia, and the competencies are now being translated into Thai, Indonesian, and Vietnamese
languages. Furthermore, ARISE has conducted competency surveys for clinical research professionals inThailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of an AMEDfunded project (4).
With the conclusion of the MOU, NCGM and MRCT Center will reaffirm each other's strengths as research
institutions and aim to promote international collaborative clinical research in Asia and the world.
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MOU signing ceremony held online on May 20, 2022

(Picture1) Professor Barbara Bierer of the MRCT Center and Dr. Kokudo NCGM

(Picture2) Representatives and Project staffs of NCGM and MRCT Center2

(1) Competency framework for clinical research professionals
JTF Core Competency Framework for Clinical Research Professionals
Japanese version Competency Framework for Clinical Research Professions(2) Joint Task Force for Clinical Trial Competency. Kazutaka Shimoda and Yuji Watanabe, Clinical Pharmacology
2020 Vol. 51 No. 3 p. 131-150, DOI

https://doi.org/10.3999/jscpt.51.131(3) ARO Alliance for ASEAN & East Asia (ARISE, align)
This is an international collaborative clinical research alliance established under the leadership of NCGM with theaim of establishing a foundation for clinical research promotion in Asia.
(4)
Funding Source: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)
Program Name: Clinical Research and Clinical Trials Promotion Project and Network Development Project in Asia.
Project Name: Clinical research and clinical trial platform formation to promote international researchcooperation between Japan and Asian countries in the field of infectious diseases (Project Number 20
lk020100j0001)
Related Links
NCGM Center for Clinical Sciences, Department of International Trials Website
https://ccs.ncgm.go.jp/050/en/index.html
MRCT Center Home Page
https://mrctcenter.org/

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