PEDSTART is the French network for paediatric clinical research. Founded in 2018, it has grown from seven paediatric centers to 19, at present. As a multi-thematic network PEDSTART works with all specialties and all ages of paediatrics – from premature to adolescent. In its role as a national network, PEDSART brings together paediatric clinical sites and recognized experts of various specialties, as well as offering a structure to facilitate multi-centre and European trials. Pedstart has developed strong interaction with other networks such as Rare Diseases (ORPHANDEV), vaccinology (iREIVAC), that ensures direct access to key opinion leaders. It has also developed a unique service devoted to vigilances that has proven efficiency in c4c academic proof of viability (APoV) projects.
The coordinator of the Network is Prof Régis Hankard, Professor in Paediatrics at the Orleans University Hospital. He is a member of the executive board of FCRIN, the Inserm National Clinical Research Infrastructure, which coordinates thematic clinical research networks. The Pedstart team is spread all over France ensuring an active contribution of French instruction and strengthening the national networking.
Pedstart is the single point of contact in France for international trials and facilitates their implementation with French clinical centres (solicitations, budgets, procedures) and federates investigators around common scientific objectives to promote competitive and high-quality academic research. Communicating regularly in form of monthly meetings, PEDSTART not only nurtures a strong bond with the sites, but also provides interventions of outsourced specialists, following the needs of the sites and trends in the research field.
Another priority and field of activity of PEDSTART is the support provided to the PPI groups KIDS France. Coordinated by Segolene Gaillard, the initial KIDS group in Lyon is an active partner for international projects inside and outside c4c, and during the last year has opened two new KIDS groups in Lille and Paris.
Through the participation in the c4c network, PEDSTART plays a consequent role in collaboration and networking with its European homologues and facilitating the participation of French research sites in European level projects and studies. The best examples of this activity are the APOV TREOCAPA (study testing the effect of acetaminophen on the outcome of 700 premature babies with ductus arteriosus), funded by c4c.
PEDSTART played a central role with the Portuguese Hub animating exchanges between c4c national research networks for academic projects out of c4c portfolio. The 1,5 M€ received from an Inserm Call to set up a 2 y follow-up within all the European sites of the Treocapa APoV is a example of that role ( cohort: TREOCAP-LT).
To engage and affirm as a national reference of clinical research, PEDSTART organizes, second year in a row, a national Scientific Symposium on relevant and trending topics such as innovative therapy in rare diseases (2024) and the link between the brain and intestine, especially in the context of autism (2023).
Visit the PEDSTART website to find out more!
