The European way to go: Virtual Central Laboratory

In clinical pharmaceutical trials often one central laboratory is used for the analysis of routine parameters, the so-called safety parameters. In many countries the heads of laboratory departments question the quality of such analysis in terms of quality of samples after transport, continuity of patient related medical laboratory information before, during and after the trial; turn around time; alerting procedures and consultancy to requesting physicians. On the other hand, the pharmaceutical industry prefers to work with central laboratories since they can claim certification or accreditation. Also the use of one set of reference values is an important issue, as well as electronic data transfer to the trial organizer's database. The concept of a Virtual Central Laboratory (VCL), initiated in the Netherlands, tries to solve this conflicting situation. In the concept, local hospital laboratories receive computer-assisted aid in the identification of patients, trials, visits and requests. The laboratory data are transformed using calibrator sets to produce a homogeneous data set across laboratories, resulting in one set of reference values. The data are electronically transferred to a central computer from which they are send in any desired format to the trial organizer's database. Participating laboratories are obliged to work towards accreditation. The VCL acts as a central counterpart for both the pharmaceutical industry and local laboratories. The concept offers advantages to the pharmaceutical industry, the investigator and local laboratories.