More than 250 clinical trials in Ukraine are being disrupted by the war, Wired reports.
It adds that Ukraine has built itself into a clinical trial hub with a large scientific and medical workforce, a new digital medical records system, and people willing to take part in research. But this system has also cracked, as the war has sent trial participants seeking refuge in other countries and as medication shipments have become more complicated, Wired writes. It adds that, at the outset of the war, there were 117 cancer-related clinical trials in Ukraine as well as others focused on treating schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, and COVID-19.
Ivan Vyshnyvetskyy, president of the Ukrainian Association for Clinical Research, tells Wired that while some clinical trial sponsors had contingency plans in place, most did not. Wired adds that many pharmaceutical companies say they will try to keep the trials going as best they can, though many have paused recruitment and enrollment, both in Ukraine and in Russia.
Wired further notes that the situation is forcing researchers to weigh: "What's more dangerous, pulling experimental drugs from people who might desperately need them or forcing patients to continue with trials in a country where today's trial sites could be tomorrow's bomb targets?"