Chula to boost local medical research

Chula to boost local medical research

Chulalongkorn University's Non-Human Primates Research Center (NPRCT) held its NPRCT-CCU Symposium 2023 last weekend, aimed at moving Thailand's medical research forward after the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Chakkaphan Sutthirat, Chulalongkorn's Vice President for Research Affairs, global medical researchers became concerned after the pandemic hit. These researchers wanted to find ways to prevent the disease from spreading, he said.

He said NPRCT's success rate has been rising over the last four years, especially during the pandemic, when the centre contributed to local vaccine research by providing primates for trials. The move has elevated the research centre to the global stage, he said.

Prof Suchinda Malaivijitnond, NPRCT's director, said the research centre became the only one in Asia to meet AAALAC International and OECD-GLP standardisations, making any vaccine research the centre is involved in more reliable.

AAALAC International promotes the humane treatment of animals in science, while OECD-GLP ensures high-quality and reliable test data.

Prof Suchinda claimed that NPRCT contributions would lead to faster and safer human trials.

"In this symposium, we highlighted the private sector's support for Covid-19 research, which aids the country's [ability to adapt]," she said.

According to Prof Suchinda, the standardisations will lead to NPRCT collaboration with research centres outside the country, including those in Germany, China, America, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia.

The symposium also provided a stage for medical researchers to exhibit their studies on infectious and non-infectious diseases to boost medical research quality, she said.

The NPRCT used this opportunity to sign collaboration deals with various medical research centres, including Japan's Center of the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases Department of Parasitology and South Korea's School of Pharmacy at Sungkyunkwan University, she said.

Prof Suchinda said the NPRCT's next move is to help create Thailand's OECD-GLP Preclinical Testing Network, an initiative that has aided animal trials in other countries in the region, including Singapore and Malaysia.

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