With global support and $50 million yuan from the government, an ambitious clinical research center has been given the go-ahead in Tianjin.

The Global Clinical Trial and Research (GCTR) Center will be located in the Tianjin Biotechnology Research Park, 137 kilometers southeast of Beijing.

"The mission of the center is not only to set up an e-platform for clinical trials and develop a global clinical trial network, but also to promote high-quality clinical research in China and to lead advances in clinical research on an international platform," said Shein-Chung Chow, a professor at Duke University School of Medicine who has been named funding director of the project.

The GCTR will consist of five divisions: Clinical Trial e-Platform, Clinical Trial Operations, Clinical Trial Network, Clinical Trial Research, and Clinical Trial Education and Training.

To ensure the success of the center, Chow has been actively seeking help and advice from the leaders of clinical trial and research organizations such as the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Food and Drug Administration, and MD Anderson Cancer Institute.

"The major problem regarding clinical trials and research in China is that despite presence of the many talented investigators and clinical scientists, there is no efficient infrastructure to facilitate and monitor cross-regional and cross-national multi-center clinical trials," said Richard Schilsky, chairman of the Department of Medicine of the University of Chicago.

The GCTR is being sponsored by four Chinese governmental departments: the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the State Food and Drug Administration, along with the Tianjin Municipal Government.