A new clinical trials unit (CTU) will allow B.C. life sciences companies to test early-stage drugs locally.
The B.C. government announced Tuesday the launch of an eight-bed CTU at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver—the first facility in the province with the capacity to perform non-oncology Phase 1 clinical trials.
“The new [CTU] will advance early-stage drug development, while allowing more local life sciences companies to conduct clinical research and grow here in B.C., instead of going elsewhere,” Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s minister of jobs and economic growth, said in a Tuesday statement.
Phase 1 clinical trials are the first studies of a new treatment in humans. They are conducted in specialized units with full medical support to test safety, side effects, dosage, methods and others.
