From the desk of Middlemore Clinical Trials CEO Edward Watson:
In 2021, Middlemore Clinical Trials (MMCT) celebrated 20 years of partnership with Middlemore Hospital.
Established as an independent trust in 2001 and known as the Centre for Clinical Research and Effective Practice, the unit was set up to run commercially sponsored and grant-funded clinical trials in collaboration with Middlemore Hospital.
Much has been achieved in those 20 years and MMCT has matured both in terms of its understanding and ability to conduct world-class clinical trials for the benefit of the community of Counties Manukau.
In the early years MMCT hosted the Tissue Biobank, which was subsequently passed on to the University of Auckland. Now the unit has a clear focus on clinical trials, boasting dedicated laboratory processing facilities, a temperature controlled pharmacy, and a state-of-the-art infusion unit to perform early phase clinical trials.
Image: MMCT Infusion Suite, 2020
The evolving nature of clinical research means that MMCT utilises the skills of both registered nurses and science graduates with PhD, MSc, or Pharmacy degrees, which brings a broad set of skills and experience to the management of our trials.
Now one of the largest clinical trial units in the country, MMCT is engaged with 75 industry funded clinical trials per year and working with 23 departments within the hospital covering both medical and surgical disciplines.
A significant part of our portfolio is managing grant funded trials of which we have around 60. These trials are started by investigators within the hospital or are part of larger national and international collaborative research networks.
MMCT works with over 60 investigators here at Counties Manukau, who, like us, are motivated to help address health inequity within the local community through clinical trials.
Image: The MMCT Executive team, 2010
Image: MMCT staff, 2009