2019 Annual Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2019 Annual Report YOUR PARTNER OF CHOICE FOR CLINICAL TRIALS 17 Years operating 30 Network members 1475 + Trials opened 9400+ Patients enrolled WESTERN AUSTRALIA 1 QUEENSLAND 4 5 SOUTH 6 AUSTRALA NEW SOUTH WALES 7 2 3 8 VICTORIA 9 10 11 14–29 13 12 2 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 Our network members 1 Linear Clinical Research 17 Epworth Healthcare 2 Calvary Central Districts Hospital 18 Melbourne Health 3 Lyell McEwin Hospital 19 Monash Health 4 The Tweed Hospital 20 Murdoch Children’s Research Institute 5 Coffs Harbour Health Campus 21 Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute 6 Port Macquarie Base Hospital 22 Peninsula Health 7 Chris O’Brien Lifehouse 23 Peninsula Oncology Centre 8 Border Medical Oncology 24 Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre 9 Goulburn Valley Health 25 Royal Children’s Hospital 10 Bendigo Health 26 Royal Women’s Hospital 11 Ballarat Health Services 27 St Vincent’s Institute 12 Barwon Health 28 The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute 13 South West Healthcare of Medical Research 14 Alfred Health 29 Western Health 30 15 Austin Health 30 Auckland City Hospital 16 Cabrini Health CONTENTS 5 Chairperson’s Report 6 Review of Operations 9 Management Reports 18 Board Sub-Committee Reports 20 Board of Directors 25 Corporate Governance 26 CTA Current Member Organisation Directory 2 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 3 4 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 Chairperson’s Report It is my pleasure to write my fourth Chairperson’s report, to preface the 2019 Cancer Trials Australia Annual Report. I thank my fellow Directors for their important contributions throughout 2019; Michelle Gallaher, Colin Nugent, John Seymour, Mark Shackleton, Craig Underhill and Zee Wan Wong, as well as our new Director Tim Murphy. In 2019 CTA expanded its Membership base with the addition of Coffs Harbour, situated in the Mid North Coast Local Health District in NSW, as well as experienced further growth in both the number and scope of Service Agreements with our Members. Building on the back of growth over the previous three years, CTA service metrics grew further in 2019, once again breaking our year-on-year CEO Kurt Lackovic, now in his third year record in all key performance indicators. at CTA, and the entire CTA management Our growth continues into 2020, welcoming team have impressed with their ability to two additional Members in the first continue to grow CTA’s Membership and quarter alone. services, while simultaneously improving efficiency. I am particularly pleased with Throughout 2019 CTA continued to focus the strategic investment in information on ensuring the smooth administration management systems, as detailed further of an expanding trial portfolio across our into this report. Cancer Trials Australia is Membership. This is only possible through extremely well positioned to continue to nurturing strong links with both Sponsors provide value for money services to support and Contract Research Organisations, clinical trial activity across our growing and leveraging the significant value Membership. Our efforts help ensure offered through our expanding Tumour Australia remains a destination of choice Group network. for international clinical trial sponsors, CTA continued to take a leadership role at securing earlier access to novel therapies both national and international conferences, for Australian cancer patients. adding significant value to Australia’s clinical I would like to take the opportunity to trial sector. Our staff also represented congratulate both CTA management and all Members’ interest on a range of committees CTA staff, as well as acknowledge Network and advisory groups, including an Australian Member personnel for working hard to Clinical Trials Alliance reference group, ensure CTA’s ongoing success. CT:IQ, AusBiotech’s Clinical Trials Advisory Group and the BioMelbourne Network’s ANDREW SCOTT Clinical Trials Advisory Group. Board Chairperson 4 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 5 Review of Operations I write my 2019 Review of Operations supported by CTA, amendments grew from home, under challenging 5%, clinical trial contracts grew 24%, and circumstances across the globe. CTA’s the CTA Finance team issued over 5,000 ability to adapt to changing operating invoices and administered more than $33M conditions over the past two months is a on behalf of our Members, up almost 40% testament to the character of our staff, on the previous year. This activity lead to as well as the investment of funds, effort the generation of a healthy surplus for and foresight made towards evolving our reinvestment to benefit our Members. Information Systems over recent years. Increased activity throughout 2019 The 2019 calendar year saw further growth necessitated additional staff, with our team at Cancer Trials Australia, both in CTA’s growing by seven employees across the year. Membership as well as in the delivery of We also implemented a change in structure, administrative services to our Members. with the creation of an additional Start- I am pleased that, despite the challenges Up team dedicated to our newest service presented by COVID-19 in 2020, two Members, enabling greater focus on the additional Members have been added in the establishment and refinement of processes first quarter of this year. at those sites. New service agreements were executed in In 2018, CTA was pleased to announce 2019, and all expiring service agreements reaching an agreement with the Victorian were renewed throughout the year, Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) to highlighting the ongoing value-add CTA is provide Site Management Services for providing for our service Members. I look the VCCC’s Investigator Initiated Trial (IIT) forward to continuing to nurture strong Program. Throughout 2019 we executed relationships with all Members within our 11 individual agreements under this scheme, expanding network. ensuring a coordinated approach to the administration of Investigator Initiated After two retirements and one addition at Trials across VCCC Members, which will help Board level in 2018, there was only change in maximise benefits of clinician led research to 2019, with the Board welcoming Tim Murphy Victorian cancer patients. as an independent Director. I look forward to working closely with Tim and all other Board Toward the end of 2018, I was pleased members over the coming period. to announce a new project, funded by the VCCC’s Efficiency Program, providing Almost all CTA service metrics improved Victorian sites with an exciting opportunity across 2019; feasibilities grew 45%, there to implement the electronic document was a 14% increase in new trial activity management system, SiteDocs Portal, for 6 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 oncology clinical trials. Throughout 2019 expansion of services offered, including we led the implementation of SiteDocs at for investigator initiated trials, (iv) strategic 17 Victorian sites, facilitating a reduction selection of additional Members, as well as in repetitive administration and providing (v) further enhancing our communication sponsors with a consistent mechanism to with Members, industry and government. ensure trial management and oversight. Nurturing tighter links with both State and Federal governments will allow CTA to add Management at CTA have expanded on their further value in the evolving Australian respective areas of responsibility further in clinical trial landscape. this report, covering Ethics and Governance Submissions, Budget and Contracts, Finance, Finally, I would like to take the opportunity Information Systems and Human Resources. to thank all CTA staff, as well as all Member personnel, for the hard work that is Cancer Trials Australia continues to focus essential to enable the CTA network to on (i) providing cost efficient and timely continue to flourish. services to our expanding Membership, (ii) strategic investment in information KURT LACKOVIC systems that support our Members, (iii) Chief Executive Officer 6 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 ANNUAL REPORT 2019 | 7 8 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019 Management Reports Member Network There was a 45% increase in the number of feasibilities received from sponsors in 2019 CTA successfully coordinated 33 Tumour compared to 2018, reflecting both Australia’s Group meetings for the 10 Tumour attractiveness as a destination to conduct Streams and the Phase 1 Tumour Group. clinical trials and CTA’s increasing ability to New Tumour Group Chairpersons were support such trials. welcomed for the Gastrointestinal, Gynaecological, Haematological and Lung In October 2019, we held the Annual Tumour Groups. We thank the following CTA Research Managers meeting which enabled many of our metro, interstate and outgoing Chairpersons for their dedicated regional Member sites to come together time: Associate Professor Linda Mileshkin and discuss pertinent topics such as “How (Gynaecological TG Chair, 10 years), Dr to survive an FDA audit”, Teletrials, and the Sumi Ananda (Gastrointestinal TG Chair, development of a Research Governance nine years), and Dr Dishan Herath (Lung TG Toolkit. We thank the Research Managers Chair, six years) and welcomed the following and site staff for taking the time to ensure Investigators as new chairpersons: Dr Sumi the success of this annual forum. Ananda for Gynaecological, Dr Margaret Lee for Gastrointestinal, Dr Muhammad Our continued collaboration with the Alamgeer for Lung and Dr Chung Fong to Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre lead an additional Haematological (myeloid (VCCC) saw at least two major projects focussed) Tumour Group. Thank you to progress significantly