Our aim is simple: faster study start‑up, stronger partnerships across UMC Utrecht, and quicker access to innovative treatment for our patients.
Over the past year, U-TRIAL conducted an in-depth qualitative study focused on patient inclusion and start-up processes in commercially sponsored clinical trials at UMC Utrecht. Through interviews with stakeholders and four focus groups across different research domains, we mapped the full trajectory from start-up to patient inclusion.
The findings revealed consistent patterns: Start-up information is often incomplete; workflows vary between departments; and facilitating services experience peakpressure and unpredictable workloads. Trial teams frequently bridge these gaps through ad hoc coordination, which keeps trials moving but is not scalable or sustainable.
Based on these insights, U-TRIAL developed an integrated roadmap for clinical trials specifically for the UMC Utrecht context. This roadmap is a visual framework outlining each step from initial contact to the first patientin. The roadmap functions as a shared reference for researchers, facilitating departments, and external partners, making dependencies clear and helping teams identify “highimpactacceleration points” early in the process.
In 2026, U-TRIAL is launching a series of targeted pilot projects within the UMC Utrecht to test and refine practical improvements. These focus on high impact steps in the start-up phase, such as strengthening early intake, standardizing feasibility information, supporting patient friendly PIF processes, and improving chain coordination. Several industry partners have expressed strong interest in collaborating on these pilots, recognizing the roadmap as a strategic stepping stone towards more efficient and predictable study execution.
Together, these efforts mark an important advance in optimizing trial operations at UMC Utrecht, ensuring faster study start-up, improved collaboration, and better access to innovative treatments for patients.
U-TRIAL: We Connect.
Check out the roadmap here