KARACHI: The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Karachi and Dimension Research Clinical Research Organization and Site Management Organization (CRO & SMO) on Wednesday inked the memorandum of understanding to foster collaboration in delivering specialized clinical research training of specialized clinical research training through the Clinical Research Certificate Program (CRCP), targeting healthcare and pharmaceutical professionals.
This initiative focuses on equipping participants with the skills to conduct high-quality clinical trials while adhering to international compliance standards, enhancing pharmaceutical education and industry practices in Pakistan.
The MoU encompass curriculum development, training delivery, adherence to international guidelines, and professional skill-building. The program is open to healthcare professionals and students in clinical, pharmaceutical, or biological sciences, including MDs, MBBS, BDS, pharmacists (B.Pharm/Pharm.D), M.Sc. graduates in biological sciences, and registered nurses (BSN). It is specifically designed to prepare participants for careers as Clinical Research Associates (CRA).
As per the MoU, both partners will join their hands in imparting clinical research training and aims to provide necessary training in clinical research to prospective clinical professionals and students hailing from healthcare, pharmaceutical industry and the biological sciences.
The core curriculum will be developed by both the parties and will emphasize on producing Certified Clinical Research Professionals trained in Good Clinical Practices (GCP) conforming to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines.
Both partners will design a professional development training programs to produce highly skilled individuals to fill positions in the pharmaceutical industries as “Clinical Research Associates” (CRA) and will lead to a more clinically efficient and productive workforce. The name of the course will be titled as “CRCP”.
The partnership will focus primarily on students and professionals with a background and interest in clinical research; especially those associated with the clinical, pharmaceutical and biological sciences. Students who have attained/completed 16 years of education will be ideally suited for this training program.
They will develop a unique training program to accommodate both industry specific needs and skills and practical clinical trial experience. This program will be designed to provide training in ICH GCP guidelines, clinical trial monitoring, investigative site coordination, knowledge and understanding of ICH GCP.
The CRCP course will be launched for the minimum batch size of 30 participants. The KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi and the Chief Executive Officer Dimension Research CRO & SMO, Karachi Muhammad Khurram Zaki Khan inked the MoU documents at the VC Secretariat.
The KU Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Professor Dr Shaista Tabassum, Dean of Faculty of Science Professor Dr Musarrat Jahan Yousuf, Dean of Faculty of Islamic Studies Professor Dr Zahid Ali Zahidi, Dean of Faculty of Management and Administrative Sciences Professor Dr Zaeema Asrar Mohiuddin, Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, faculty members of the departments of pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacognosy, and pharmacology, and Director of Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization Dr Syeda Hoor Ul Ain and team, and office bearers of Dimension Research CRO & SMO, Karachi were also present on this occasion.
