BIOBADASER, the longest research project of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER), transcends borders. Members of Medical Department of Samsung Bioepis, the biotech division of South Korean conglomerate, recently visited the SER in Madrid. This visit is part of the process of dissemination and collaboration that the Spanish Registry of Adverse Events of Biological Therapies in Rheumatic Diseases is doing in relationship with the recent launch of Phase III of the project.
Kyunga Kim (Project Manager of Samsung Bioepis) and Joowon Lee (Director Medical Team Samsung Bioepis) were the representatives of the South Korean company, at a meeting which was also attended by the Medical Director of Biogen, Dra. Cristina Bas. The interest of the meeting focused on: what’s new in the Phase III study, the international collaborative projects carried out by BIOBADASER, and on the general operation of the Register and its electronic case report data.
Dra. Maria Victoria Hernandez, researcher and member of the Scientific Committee BIOBADASER stressed the importance of international collaborations undertaken by the research team over the past fifteen years. Indeed, the launch of Phase III of this project is marked as one of its objectives remain relevant international study. Dr. Federico Diaz, Director of the Research Unit of the SER, reviewed the ongoing research projects in the Unit, reminded the participants that the strengths of the project go beyond the number of patients included in registration (currently over 7,000), and emphasized the work to ensure the quality of information gathered through a thorough extensive monitoring process. Also, Carlos Sanchez Piedra, methodologist project leader, Fernando Alonso, the Research Unit´s statistic and Jesus Sanchez, BIOBADASER´s monitor explained different aspects of the Project.
Samsung Bioepis representatives agreed on the magnitude of BIOBADASER study and the large number of activities carried out by the SER. Phase III of BIOBADASER started last December 17. More than 80 researchers from 35 hospitals in Spain participating in this project dedicated to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of biological drugs in rheumatology patients.
