Overview RTR

Overview translational research

Translational research constitutes a bridge between basic and clinical research providing means to  transfer scientific discoveries that are generated at the bench, to practical application at the front line of the patient's bedside. This bench-to-bedside approach is actually a two-way process in which basic researchers provide clinicians with new tools to test in clinical context and clinical researchers in turn provide a feed back with their observation on the nature and a progression of the disease.
Translational studies comprise preclinical activities that lead up to a clinical trial. These include direct drug development (validation of potential therapeutic agents in terms of toxicology, pharmacological optimization and scale-up manufacturing) as well as development of tools and services for delivery and monitoring. It also includes the design of clinical trials and the activities that support the conduction of clinical trials such as development of databases and protocols.
In order to sped up the results transfer major communication and sharing of information and resources in the research community are required. Promising ideas for novel therapeutic interventions often encounter difficulties in translation process. This is particularly true for high-risk and highly innovative proposals for rare disorders that do not attract consistent attention and investments. Translational research holds opportunity also for public-private partnership and biotechnological industry that could significantly contribute to therapeutics development by supporting promising results and idea of academic/research teams and, at the same time,  benefit from these joint efforts in having access to novel tools and transformative treatments that can catalyze starting or expanding of their drug development programs.