African Excellence Awards 2022 18 Clinical Trials Organisation of the Year - South Africa Thanks to the work of clinical research organisations, millions of lives have been saved over the years. TREAD Research, South Africa’s leading clinical research organisation, has held hundreds of trials, with its findings contributing to improving the treatments of multiple life-threatening ailments, diseases, and conditions. Since 1998, TREAD Research has been conducting leading pharmaceutically sponsored contract clinical research with the support of the Division of Cardiology, Department of internal medicine, Stellenbosch University. From its home at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, TREAD Research has fronted over 600 trials to date, and has undergone three successful FDA inspections. The organisation was founded and is managed by Professor Lesley Burgess, and under her guidance, TREAD Research has delved into several key therapeutic areas, such as cardiology and cardiology risk factors, vaccines, nephrology, and rheumatology, to name a few. All the research conducted by the organisation is reviewed and approved by either a private or university health research ethics committee. TREAD Research is committed to advancing responsible research – it is a fundamental part of the organisation’s structure – and therefore, TREAD Research has made it its mission to ensure that human research subjects are treated with high standards and respect, and that they are able to provide voluntary, informed consent throughout the trial. To ensure that this takes place, TREAD Research promotes an environment of understanding, especially when it comes to the rights and welfare of its human research participants, and that the participants themselves are well-informed of their research rights. Moreover, TREAD Research thoroughly considers the risks and benefits of every study that takes place. Each of these factors have one key trait in common – transparency. It is imperative that TREAD Research prioritises honesty as participants are placing their trust in the organisation to deliver safe, efficient, and fair trials. Through these elements, TREAD Research has achieved great success, establishing a reputation for excellence. Indeed, the award-winning organisation has been recognised for its unique ability to acquire an abundance of participants, with numbers often exceeding the original targets. For example, the Odyssey study expected to enrol 20 participants; however, over 208 participants were enrolled, resulting in an over-recruitment of 1040%. This isn’t an uncommon sight for TREAD Research – The Trap2 study reached overrecruitment by 1340%. The TREAD Research team works to the best of their ability to maintain these ground-breaking numbers, yet the team is special in its own right; the 36 people team is made up of 30 female members of staff. This is rare within most fields. Furthermore, team members are trained to industry-leading standards, receiving GCP certification, ECG training, IATA certification, and more. TREAD Research believes in continued learning, as such, two of its doctors have now received their BSc (hons) in Pharmacology, one has achieved an MSc in Clinical Research, and a further two have completed the CDE 5-day Advanced Course in Diabetes Care for Health Professionals. The aforementioned accomplishments are only a handful of the teams’ impressive accolades. Such achievements have empowered the organisation to fulfil a plethora of projects, ranging from developing other research sites to developing research training courses in conjunction with Academic advance, a division of the Wits Health Consortium. The courses – which are provided by TREAD Research staff across the country – have been incredibly popular, training approximately 900-1000 people per annum. Consequently, new courses are currently in the works. Contact: Nadine Biscombe Company: TREAD Research Web Address: https://www.tread.co.za/
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