Grant: Op Gr.: Canadian Network of COVID-19 Clinical Trials Networks (CNCCTN) Extension

To date over 3.6 million Canadians have been diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. Of these, 15-20% have been hospitalized, and over one-quarter have been admitted to ICU. Unfortunately, there have been nearly 40,000 deaths. To meet the challenge of knowing how to best prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19, with support from CIHR, we established the Canadian COVID-19 Network of Clinical Trials Networks. It has coordinated and supported research that is responsive to the needs of citizens, patients, families and health systems, and benefits from the expertise of clinicians, researchers, industry, our public health, clinical and biomedical research infrastructure. It is a pan-Canadian partnership of over 400 inter-professional members: patient partners, clinical and translational scientists, health care professionals, research coordinators and trainees, including over 60 university-affiliated and community, adult and pediatric healthcare centres. Ensuring equitable engagement with and responsiveness to diverse stakeholders including Indigenous Canadians, racialized Canadians and socioeconomically disadvantaged Canadians disproportionately affected by the pandemic is core to our work. We have championed supporting a network of sites to undertake scalable, context-responsive research approaches, including the parallel evaluation of multiple therapies using adaptive platform clinical trials and efficient data handling into which we have incorporated COVID-19 pandemic-relevant treatment arms and enrolled COVID-19 infected patients in Canada and with international partner trials groups, around the world. This Network is not only helping to get the most from the Canadian COVID-19 research response but will build research capacity and better prepare us for the future.