Alberta Innovates has launched a new initiative to attract world-class clinical trials to the province and establish Alberta as a major destination for medical research and innovation in North America.
Clinical Trials Alberta (CTA) is a collaborative effort between academic institutions, government, and healthcare delivery organizations. Tammy Mah-Fraser, executive director of health platforms at Alberta Innovates, said the new initiative will tell the world that the province is open for business.
"Alberta is an innovation hub and we want to continue to attract research and innovation to bring the world's latest therapies to improve patients' outcomes," Mah-Fraser told Taproot.
"CTA helps attract new methods, ideas, and products to Alberta that will diversify our economy and grow the health industry. Alberta has the perfect environment to conduct clinical trials."
Clinical trials are conducted to test the safety and effectiveness of a new treatment or procedure. Through the trials, which involve volunteers, researchers discover how to prevent or diagnose a disease as well as learn how an illness affects a patient's life.
Clinical Trials Alberta is one of many initiatives that Alberta Innovates has launched to accelerate innovation in the healthcare industry. It recently provided funding to three University of Alberta projects through the Health Innovation Platform Partnerships (HIPP) program.
Accelerating Innovations into CarE (AICE)- Validate is another program that the Alberta-based organization started to help the province's health innovators accelerate the commercialization of their health technologies.