Ecraid Foundation

Ecraid (the Ecraid Foundation) is a not-for-profit clinical research network headquartered in Utrecht, The Netherlands, dedicated to infectious diseases. It describes itself as the first network of its kind in Europe to offer a single point of access to a pan-European clinical research network for infectious diseases. Its stated purpose is to reduce the impact of infectious diseases on individual and population health, with patients and people at risk of infectious diseases as the ultimate beneficiaries of its services. The organisation was created to address a fragmented clinical research landscape in which almost every new clinical study is designed and initiated relatively from scratch, leading to inefficient use of resources and delays. Ecraid's vision is to build a permanent, not-for-profit, pan-European clinical research network capable of rapidly initiating and completing high-quality clinical studies with greater speed and efficiency. It positions itself as one of the backbones of Europe's coordinated preparedness and response to infectious disease threats, and aims to attract more industry investment in infectious disease interventions by accelerating clinical trials and making them more affordable. Ecraid's network is built around several care settings: a Hospital Care Network, a Paediatric Care Network, a Laboratory Network, a Primary Care Network and a Long-term Care Facility Network. According to its website, the network spans more than 1,200 hospital sites, more than 1,000 clinical laboratories and more than 250 primary care sites, giving sponsors and researchers access to academic opinion leaders and a pan-European 'warm-base' network of clinical, primary care and laboratory sites. Its core service offering is clinical research supported by laboratory analyses, epidemiological analyses, statistical analyses, data management, biobanking, training and public engagement. Ecraid says it will provide the full breadth of clinical studies on infectious diseases, covering observational and interventional studies; prevention, treatment, diagnostic, screening, epidemiological, quality-of-life and health-economics research; and trial phases from Phase I to Phase IV. Supporting services include laboratory research and biobanking, epidemiological research, statistical research, data management, training, public engagement and rapid response services. Ecraid operates in an 'inter-epidemic' mode when there is no unusual infectious disease outbreak in Europe, providing clinical research and supporting services, and can tailor its services when emerging outbreaks of epidemic-prone infectious diseases occur. It is the envisaged long-term successor of the European-funded projects COMBACTE and PREPARE, and the ECRAID-Base project is intended to continue developing Ecraid into a sustainable not-for-profit clinical research network over a five-year period. The organisation is primarily concerned with the health of European citizens and those living in Europe.

Ecraid (the Ecraid Foundation) is a not-for-profit clinical research network based in Utrecht, The Netherlands, focused on infectious diseases. It presents itself as the first network of its kind in Europe to offer a single point of access to a pan-European clinical research network for infectious diseases. The organisation emerged from a recognised need for long-term, sustained and coordinated research efforts to limit the impact of infectious diseases and to generate evidence for developing and testing clinical interventions such as diagnostics, antimicrobials, treatment regimens and vaccines. Its founders and backers identified a fragmented clinical research landscape in which almost every new clinical study was designed and initiated relatively from scratch, causing inefficient use of resources and study progress delays. Ecraid is described on its website as the envisaged long-term successor of two European-funded projects: COMBACTE and PREPARE. COMBACTE (Combatting Bacterial Resistance in Europe) is part of the IMI-funded programme ND4BB (New Drugs for Bad Bugs) and focuses on improving the clinical development of antibiotics. PREPARE (the Platform for European Preparedness Against (Re-)emerging Epidemics) is a large-scale European network including 27 beneficiaries, funded by the EU FP7 Programme, which started its activities in February 2014. Building on these projects, Ecraid was conceived as a permanent, not-for-profit, pan-European clinical research network capable of rapidly initiating and completing high-quality clinical studies with greater speed and efficiency. To develop Ecraid into a sustainable network, the ECRAID-Base project was established. According to Ecraid's website, over a five-year period ECRAID-Base will continue to develop Ecraid into a sustainable not-for-profit clinical research network. The network is organised around several care settings — Hospital Care, Paediatric Care, Laboratory, Primary Care and Long-term Care Facilities — and reports more than 1,200 hospital sites, more than 1,000 clinical laboratories and more than 250 primary care sites. Ecraid's stated vision is that its clinical research network will become one of the backbones of Europe's coordinated preparedness and response to infectious disease threats, and will attract more industry investment in innovating infectious disease interventions by accelerating clinical trials and making them more affordable. It operates in an 'inter-epidemic' mode when no unusual infectious disease outbreak is present in Europe, providing clinical research and supporting services, and can tailor its services when emerging outbreaks of epidemic-prone infectious diseases occur. Its primary concern is the health of European citizens and those living in Europe.

• 2014

  PREPARE, a predecessor European network funded by the EU FP7 Programme, starts its activities.

• Ecraid is described as the envisaged long-term successor of the European-funded projects COMBACTE and PREPARE.

• The ECRAID-Base project is set to continue developing Ecraid into a sustainable not-for-profit clinical research network over five years.

Europe's premier not-for-profit pan-European clinical research network for infectious diseases, offering a single point of access to a 'warm-base' network of clinical, primary care and laboratory sites.

• Clinical research services

  Core service offering: clinical research supported by laboratory analyses, epidemiological analyses, statistical analyses, data management, biobanking, training and public engagement. Covers observational and interventional studies; prevention, treatment, diagnostic, screening, epidemiological, quality-of-life and health-economics research; and Phase I–IV trials.

• Hospital Care Network

  Network of hospital sites across Europe for infectious disease clinical research.

• Paediatric Care Network

  Network focused on paediatric care settings for infectious disease clinical research.

• Laboratory Network

  Network of clinical laboratories supporting infectious disease research.

• Primary Care Network

  Network of primary care sites for infectious disease clinical research.

• Long-term Care Facility Network

  Network of long-term care facilities for infectious disease clinical research.

• Rapid response research services

  Services tailored to emerging outbreaks of epidemic-prone infectious diseases, complementing the inter-epidemic mode of operation.

1. 1Ecraid home | Ecraidecraid.eu
2. 2services | Ecraidecraid.eu
3. 3about us | Ecraidecraid.eu
4. 4services | Ecraidecraid.eu
5. 5Ecraid Foundation (Netherlands)wikidata.org