The Clinical Pharmacology Department within MORU was established in mid-2003 and started as a single small laboratory with 2 staff. The main objective was to measure drug concentrations from samples coming from study sites within the MORU network. A lot of work went into setting up a proper SOP system to conduct all procedures according to international standards. The laboratory has continued to evolve and expand over the last five years and is today consisting of four laboratories in over 120 m2 and three office areas supported by a great team of highly qualified and inspired staff.

The main areas of research are anti-malaria drugs and influenza drugs and our work is designed to meet the needs of clients, patients and clinical personnel responsible for patient care.

The Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory is responsible for the analysis of antimalarial and antiviral drug concentrations for all biological samples originating from Oxford University study sites throughout South East Asia.

The Southeast Asia Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network, SEA ICRN, initiated in 2006, is a multilateral collaboration between Oxford University, 11 hospitals in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, US NIAID/NIH, WHO and the Wellcome Trust. SEA ICRN is committed to advancing clinical research and management of human infectious diseases of significant importance to the Southeast Asia region while building individual and institutional capacity in international partners in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore. The scientific aim of the SEA ICRN is to further our understanding of antiviral drug metabolism and resistance, drug-drug interactions, and influenza pathogenesis. The Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory is responsible for the analysis of anti-influenza drug concentrations for all biological samples originating from these study sites..
Thus far, the SEA ICRN’s focus has been on severe and avian influenza although expansion into other infectious diseases is envisioned in the future.

The worldwide antimalarial resistance network (WWARN) (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation) has the potential to improve the treatment of malaria, through informing current drug selection and use and providing a prompt warning of when treatment policies need changing. It is the largest global resource providing information on antimalarial drug resistance and is linked with the WHO. By pooling all available antimalarial pharmacokinetic data, while paying careful attention to the methodologies used, the limitations of small (and thus underpowered) individual studies can be overcome and factors that contribute to inter-individual variability in pharmacokinetic parameters defined. The Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory will be responsible for setting up a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) scheme within the WWARN network. This QA/QC scheme will operate independently from our normal activities but with clear links to our experienced and successful quality department.

In addition we collaborate with research groups in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sweden, Kenya, Burma, Burkina-Faso, Germany, Uganda, The Netherlands, France, South Africa and USA developing analytical methodologies and analysing antimalarial drugs for clinical studies conducted throughout South East Asia, Africa and USA.

Next