The Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) has established Cerulea Clinical Trials, a new specialist ophthalmic clinical trial facility in Melbourne which is expected to bring more international trials to Victoria.
Launched on Word Clinical Trials Day by Victorian deputy premier and minister for Medical Research, Mr Ben Carroll, the centre will provide people living with vision loss and blindness early access to sight-saving therapies.
Cerulea is supported by a $10 million investment from Breakthrough Victoria and is expected to deliver clinical trials to more than 2,500 Victorians a year over the next decade and create 50 new jobs.
A fully owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of CERA, Cerulea will specialise in advanced therapeutics to prevent and treat blindness, including gene and cell therapies, biologics and medical devices.
The clinical trial centre will also collaborate with pharmaceutical and medtech companies from around the world and be the home of clinical research conducted by scientists from CERA and ophthalmology researchers with the University of Melbourne’s Department of Surgery.
It will test new therapies for eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, inherited retinal disease (IRD) and other rare genetic eye conditions – with a major focus on trialling new therapies for diseases that currently have no treatment or cure. In the next year, Cerulea expects to begin new clinical trials on gene therapies for retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt’s disease.
It is also expected to boost local research, ensuring that new eye treatments and devices developed in Australia are trialled here where they can benefit local patients first.
The state-of-the art centre – which houses next generation eye photography and imaging suites, vision lanes, as well as laser and treatment rooms in which therapies can be administered and monitored – is located at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (Eye and Ear) in East Melbourne.
It will also expand access to the community by delivering trials via a growing network of suburban and regional eye clinics and a planned tele-trials service.
Cerulea CEO Ms Michelle Gallaher said the new centre would harness the growing investment in the global ophthalmic research market to bring more clinical trials to Australia.
“There is a growing pipeline of discovery with new medicines and devices being developed around the world and Cerulea Clinical Trials provides the perfect location to conduct these trials,” she said.
She added that the team’s aim was to build a specialist clinical trial centre that cements Victoria’s reputation as a world leader in preventing blindness and reducing the impact of vision loss.
“Cerulea aims to provide the best possible experience for patients, researchers, clinicians and industry partners.”
Professor Keith Martin, Cerulea chair, CERA managing director and the University of Melbourne’s head of ophthalmology, said investment in the new centre was a major boost for eyecare and eye research in Victoria.
“Cerulea will support the work of lab-based scientists to develop innovative new treatments to prevent vision loss and restore sight,” he said.
“It will also benefit local eyecare professionals who will be able to improve the quality of care they provide to their patients by providing them access to emerging treatments in clinical trials.’’
Carroll added the centre is a testament to Victoria’s “world-class” medical research sector and will be developed locally for the benefit of Victorians and patients around the world.
Breakthrough Victoria CEO, Mr Grant Dooley, said: “Cerulea’s opening is exactly the outcome we wanted out of Breakthrough Victoria’s investment – to accelerate and help commercialise existing world-class medical research in the state.
“This dedicated eye clinical trials centre will not only benefit local researchers and healthcare innovators in Victoria but also provide patients with access to new eye treatments and technologies.’’
To register for a clinical trial at Cerulea visit: ceruleaclinicaltrials.org.au/take-part-in-research.
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