Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Santo António

ERN on Metabolic Diseases - MetabERN
CHUdSA coordinator | Esmeralda Martins

ERN on Transplantation in Children - ERN TRANSPLANT - CHILD
CHUdSA coordinator | Conceição Mota

ERN on Respiratory Diseases - ERN-LUNG
CHUdSA coordinator | Abílio Reis

ERN for Epilepsies - EpiCare
CHUdSA coordinator | Rui Rangel

ERN for Rare Adult Cancers (Solid Tumors) - ERN EURACAN
CHUdSA coordinator | António Araújo

ERN on Rare Hematological Diseases - EuroBloodNet
CHUdSA coordinator | Graça Porto

ERN for Rare Kidney Diseases - ERKNet 
CHUdSA coordinator | Alberto Caldas Afonso e Conceição Mota

ERN for Rare Immunodeficiencies and Rare Autoinflammatory and Autoimmune Diseases -  ERN-RITA
CHUdSA coordinator | Fátima Farinha e Raquel Faria

ERN for Rare Neuromuscular Diseases - ERN EURO-NMD
CHUdSA coordinator | Manuela Almeida Santos

ERN on Connective Tissue and Musculoskeletal Diseases - ReCONNET
CHUdSA coordinator | Fátima Farinha e Raquel Faria

ERN on COVID-19 - Rare and infectious diseases

Adult Oncology - Esophageal Cancer

Refractory Epilepsy

Cystic Fibrosis

Hereditary Metabolic Diseases

Adult Oncology - Testicular Cancer: Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto, Francisco Gentil, E. P. E. in inter-institutional collaboration with Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, E. P. E

Adult Oncology - Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Adult Oncology - Rectal Cancer

Adult Oncology - Hepatobilio-Pancreatic Cancer

Pediatric Renal Transplantation

Kidney Transplantation - Adults

Interventional neuroradiology in cerebrovascular disease: Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, E. P. E., in collaboration with Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João

Congenital coagulopathies

Cochlear implants: Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Coimbra, E. P. E., in collaboration with Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, E. P. E.

Familial Paramyloidosis

Pancreas Transplantation

Liver Transplantation

Auto-Immunity & Neurosciences

Cardiovascular Research Group

Clinical & Experimental Human Genomics

Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation

Oncology Research

3IDD – Intellectual Development Disorder

Anemia Pathophysiology

Anesthesiology Clinical Research

Clinical Neurology Research

Dermatology Research

Digestive and Metabolic Surgery Research

End of Life Care

Hemochromatosis and HFE

Hereditary Metabolism Disease Research

Immunoallergology Research

INeuroPED – Neuropediatrics Research: autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy and movement disorders

Intensive Care

Laboratory of Human Behavior Neurobiology

Postoperative Complications of Colorectal Surgery Study Group

The Hospital Center is a member of the PtCRIN Consortium, an infrastructure dedicated to promoting national and international research cooperation.  This link has been key in the contact with other research centers, supporting regulatory guidelines for clinical trials and retrieving funds for investigator-initiated clinical trials. PtCRIN partners with the European Network Infrastructure (ECRIN).

The Porto4Ageing consortium intends to aggregate and be a space for discussion of issues related to active and healthy aging in the metropolitan region of Porto. The consortium brings together more than 90 organizations from the Northern Region of Portugal and involves universities, research centers, policymakers, users, and industry.

VACCELERATE is a new Horizon 2020 program launched in February 2021, aiming to accelerate phase 2 & 3 clinical trials with COVID-19 vaccines. VACCELERATE brings together multiple stakeholders from Europe and countries associated with the European Union involved in vaccine development to create a single access platform for the development of such clinical trials.

Accelerating the lab to market transition of AI tools for cancer management

CHAIMELEON will set up an EU-wide structured repository for health imaging data as an open source for artificial intelligence (AI) experimentation in cancer management.

According to the legislation on research involving human subjects, a clinical trial is a research study with human subjects, which implies that when entering the trial, subjects actively participate in it. Clinical trials are designated experimental studies, because their purpose is to evaluate the effects of an intervention on the patient's health, testing the efficacy and safety of a particular drug in a given clinical condition or pathology.

The clinical development (process/program) of a drug in a common/given disease is as follows:

Participating in a clinical trial means being able to participate in the development of new drugs, contributing to scientific research, and helping people affected by the same disease, not only in Portugal but throughout the world. 

Clinical trial sponsors share essential information on websites available to health professionals and to the general public. You may find information on:

- National Clinical Trial Registry (RNEC): http://www.rnec.pt
- Clinical Trials: https://clinicaltrials.gov 

Clinical research in Portugal is subject to requirements stipulated by international guidelines and national legislation. This legislation publicly assures that the rights, safety, and well-being of participants are protected, and that collected data can be trusted. All parties involved are obliged to scrupulously comply with all these regulations.

In Portugal, conducting a clinical trial depends on the approval/prior evaluation by two regulatory entities: the National Authority of Medicines and Health Products (INFARMED) and the Ethics Committee for Clinical Research (CEIC).

CEIC acts under the responsibility of the Health Ministry and exercises its authority in Portugal.

INFARMED is the national authority responsible for authorizing and supervising therapeutic products, ensuring the quality, safety, and efficacy of medicines and medical devices.

For each trial, the study protocol and informed consent form clearly define which patients are eligible to potentially participate in the trial. The factors that allow some people to participate in a trial are called inclusion criteria, while those that do not allow a person to participate are called exclusion criteria. These criteria are based on factors such as age, gender, disease type and stage, previous treatments, other medical conditions, and values of analytical parameters. Together, inclusion and exclusion criteria define the trial population. The use of inclusion/exclusion criteria is an important principle in clinical research that helps protect the safety of participants and obtain reliable results. Therefore, before participating in a clinical trial, a person’s inclusion and exclusion criteria should be carefully assessed by the trial physician.

It should be emphasized that inclusion and exclusion criteria are not used to discriminate between participants, but rather to identify the most suitable people for that trial and protect their health, minimizing potential risks of the experimental drug. Your doctor will discuss these criteria with you to determine your eligibility.

The decision to participate in a trial is voluntary and belongs solely to the patient, after receiving appropriate information from the physician. The investigators provide a patient information form and an informed consent that includes detailed trial information.

This information is developed for the potential participant, using accessible language, and includes the following points:

As with all trial-related materials, the informed consent form is reviewed and approved by CEIC. It is very important that you clarify any questions or concerns you may have with the trial physician or other trusted person, treating physician, family, friends, or patient organization representatives. If you agree to participate in the trial, you will have to sign the informed consent form.

At any time, the participant has the right to no longer wish to participate and leave the clinical trial by withdrawing informed consent.

As with any medical procedure, the decision to participate belongs to the patient. No one can force or influence you in any way. You can always change your mind if you decide to participate. No explanation is necessary if you do not provide consent or if you withdraw it. You have the right to be informed before the trial begins, during its development, and after it ends. You can ask the attending physician questions at any time, using the contact details provided.

If you decide to participate in the trial, you will be asked to document your decision by signing the informed consent form specially developed for that specific study. In giving your consent, you are expected to follow guidelines for your safety and health. The trial team will provide support to the extent possible.

Participation in clinical trials is voluntary and may not legally be financially compensated.

However, the participant will be reimbursed for expenses incurred while participating in the clinical trial. Eligible expenses include travel, meals, and lost wages.

The benefits and risks of participating in a clinical trial are trial-specific, depending on the study design, study drug, trial population, and trial assessments. But in general terms, the major benefits of your participation in a clinical trial are:

It may be that the benefits of the experimental treatment will not be demonstrated and you derive no benefit from participating in the trial. On the other hand, there are risks or adverse effects that may not be fully known and potentially affect the participant's health.

The experimental treatment may not have the expected efficacy, and the participant may experience no positive effects or experience negative effects on his/her health. However, based on previous pre-clinical or clinical studies, the experimental treatment is expected to improve some aspects of your disease.

As a participant, you should consider not only the benefits but also the risks associated with the experimental treatment and other trial-related procedures.

As the clinical development unfolds, new information may become available. Information will be made available in due course regarding any changes in benefits and risks that may influence your decision to continue participating in the trial. It is very important to keep the research team informed of any changes in your medical condition and of new signs or symptoms. If you suffer any loss or damage as a result of the investigational product or trial-related procedures, all liabilities will be covered by the insurance contracted by the sponsor.

After clinical trial conclusion, the investigational drug must be made available free of charge by the sponsor to the participant until its introduction in the market and reimbursement by the National Health Service (SNS), provided that the investigator considers its continued use by the participant to be essential and there are no therapeutic alternatives of comparable efficacy and safety, and provided that certain rules defined in Law are complied with by the investigator.

The doctor in your specialty consultation can clarify whether the medication you are taking is sufficient or whether there are new treatment prospects. Even if your disease is not controlled, there may not be other innovative medicines available, or these medicines may still be in very early development stages.