From concept to treatment

In responding to the challenges of an ageing population and the growing demands on the healthcare system, medicine plays a pivotal role in our society. In order to help advance medical research and education, and to promote the transfer of new scientific discoveries into clinical practice, ETH Zurich has designated Medicine as one of its four strategic focus areas (see Main focus areas). The four areas – medicine, data, sustainability, and manufacturing technologies – are all oriented to societal needs and complement the activities of the 16 ETH departments.

Accordingly, ETH Zurich began setting up the digital Trial Intervention Platform (dTIP) in January 2021, and launched it with a steering committee kick-off in early February. In expanding its clinical infrastructure and standardised procedures through the platform, ETH is pushing forward medical research at the university. ETH researchers, ETH spin-offs and other partners will also be able to call on more support in the planning, submission and implementation of complex clinical studies. Such studies can demonstrate whether new treatment approaches, tested for example in basic research, are also effective and well tolerated in the human body.

“Given the rising expectations of more effective prevention and treatment, and increasingly complex regulations, ETH sees professionalising clinical research as a logical and essential step,” says Vice President for Research, Detlef Günther. dTIP provides the structures required for uniformly testing newly developed treatment approaches for their efficacy and reliability in humans. This will ensure that promising approaches do not fail at the point of setting up a trial. The new platform reports to the ETH Vice President for Research and will be run according to ETH Zurich’s proven concept for technology platforms (see Overview) and ETH Zurich’s guidelines for Human Subject Research.

Utilising experience and new digital technologies

“The platform offers consultation and assistance for every phase of human trial. Support either for specific aspects or entire clinical studies can be requested,” explains Jörg Goldhahn, Head of the ETH Institute of Translational Medicine and Director of the dTIP Steering Committee. This makes it much easier, particularly for basic researchers less familiar with the specific requirements of clinical research, to benefit from previous experience and to exploit synergies. “ETH’s technological expertise is a cornerstone here. By deploying new types of digital technologies, for example in the area of sensors, algorithms and digital infrastructure, we can devise completely new formats of data collection.”

Already around a third of professors at ETH Zurich, from engineers to natural scientists, are tackling health-related issues in their research. The main activities are in basic research relevant to medicine, such as diagnostics, medical technologies and the development of bioactive substances. “The spotlight is increasingly on computer scientists, who are pushing personalised medicine to the next level through data analyses and machine learning,” explains Christian Wolfrum, Delegate for Medicine at ETH Zurich.

ETH, KS Baden and the Wellcome Trust join forces  

The new platform dTIP will be situated in two locations. Studies are currently being carried out at the Kantonsspital Baden (external page KSB) and will also be conducted in future in Zurich, in the modern GLC development and laboratory building, now in its final stage of construction. A small external page clinical research group got started in May 2019, gaining experience in clinical collaboration with KSB and paving the way for dTIP. The platform will also draw on a network of clinical partners and form project-based alliances to address specific study needs.

Translational activities are planned in collaboration with the external page Wellcome Trust, a foundation that promotes medical research and supports the ambitious project via the external page ETH Foundation. The involvement of the funding institution promises two major benefits: Firstly, new study methods can be developed and tested directly in a clinical environment. Secondly, with the expertise it has consolidated over many years, the Wellcome Trust can provide valuable assistance to the ETH team in translational matters.

“Wellcome and ETH Zurich share the vision that dismantling barriers in translational science is crucial to solving global health challenges. We believe there is still huge potential in medical research and innovation, and are looking forward to our partnership with ETH,” says Katherine Anastasi-Frankovics, Director of Innovations at Wellcome Trust.