Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40575566›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in medicine2025

Developing and streamlining clinical trial services to support pediatric drug development across 21 countries in Europe: insights from the conect4children (c4c) network.

Sabah Attar, Francisca P Figueiras, Carla Peacock, Hazel Wohlfahrt, Birgitta C P Hüsken, Susan Andrews, Pirkko Lepola, Margaret Patton, Regis Hankard, Eren Halil and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Sabah AttarDepartment of Women's and Children's Health, Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Francisca P FigueirasAssociation for Research and Development of Faculty of Medicine, Academic Consulting Research Organization, CETERA, Stand4kids, Lisbon, Portugal.
Carla PeacockDepartment of Women's and Children's Health, Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Hazel WohlfahrtDepartment of Women's and Children's Health, Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Birgitta C P HüskenJohnson & Johnson, Breda, Netherlands.
Susan AndrewsMPH, GSK, Durham, NC, United States.
Pirkko LepolaHUS Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Margaret PattonNovartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, One Health Plaza, East Hanover, NJ, United States.
Regis HankardPEDSTART, CHU Orléans, INSERM, F-45000, Orléans, France.
Eren HalilJohnson & Johnson, High Wycombe, United Kingdom.
Fernando Pontes SoaresIRIS-Servier, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Lionel K TanViiV Healthcare, GSK HQ, London, United Kingdom.
Ricardo M Fernandesconect4children Stichting, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Mark A TurnerDepartment of Women's and Children's Health, Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The efficiency, quality, and scalability of clinical trial support services are essential for the success of multinational clinical trials particularly trials that recruit babies, children, and young people. Through a public private partnership funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 between 2018 and 2025 involving 10 large originator pharmaceutical companies and 33 academic and third sector organizations, the conect4children (c4c) network has developed high-quality trial support services to promote consistent delivery in pediatric trials in over 220 sites across 21 countries, addressing gaps in communication, site identification, feasibility, and trial support. This paper explores the development and implementation of these services, using the Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and Service Readiness Levels (SRLs) frameworks to measure service progression and operational maturity. The initiative successfully streamlined targeted aspects of trial support. Over 6 years the multinational coordination of pediatric trials moved from SRL1 to SRL8 and services have been deployed in a sustainable non-profit organization. Challenges encountered include variability in site readiness for clinical trials and processes. Differences between companies in methodologies for collecting data about trial setup prevented clear understanding of the benefits of the c4c approach. Sustainability of long-term infrastructure beyond IMI2 funding will be managed by a new, independent, non-profit organization, conect4children Stichting based on scale up of services provided to industry and academia. The findings provide generalizable insights and lessons applicable to other research networks seeking to build or improve similar infrastructures.

Indexed as

clinical trialsfeasibilitypediatric drug developmentperformance managementService Readiness Levelssite identificationtechnology readiness levelstrial services

Identifiers

PMID40575566
PMCPMC12199263

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.