Attracting Stroke Trials to Norway

This year marks the 10th anniversary in which the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) has arranged the large international stroke conference ESOC. Held in Basel, Switzerland, the conference attracted nearly 5,000 clinicians, researchers and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry. 

For the first time, NorTrials, in collaboration with Innovation Norway, Melanor, Assocation of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Norway (LMI), and the Norwegian Embassy, organized a parallel meeting during the ESOC conference. The primary objective of this meeting was to facilitate and foster connections between Norwegian clinicians and representatives of the international pharmaceutical industry, with the ultimate aim of increasing the number of clinical stroke trials conducted in Norwegian hospitals. 

Norway’s Ambassador in Bern, Kjersti Rødsmoen, welcomed the attendees and took the opportunity to promote Norway as an excellent country for conducting clinical trials. 

Norway has a robust healthcare infrastructure and is strongly committed to research and innovation. Norway has a lot to offer within the therapeutic field of stroke, both in terms of treatment and prevention. Norway’s progressive health policy, focus on patient-centered care, and strong collaboration between academia, industry and public agencies make our country an ideal place to conduct groundbreaking clinical studies, said Rødsmoen. 

Signe Øien Fretland, head of the NorTrials coordinating unit, spoke about Norway’s commitment to clinical trials in general and presented the portal that serves as a single point of entry for pharmaceutical industry, which consider conducting studies in Norway. 

Annette Fromm, chief physician at the Department of Neurology at Haukeland University Hospital and head of the stroke network at NorTrials’ Brain Health Centre, talked about the focus on brain health specifically. She explained how the centre is organized and internal routines that are in place to ensure rapid response in regard to feasibility requests among the network's possible 50 stroke units across the country.