On August 28, Gramado (RS) hosted the 7th edition of the CURA Meetings Laboratory, an initiative by the Instituto Projeto Cura that seeks to bring together different stakeholders in the clinical research ecosystem to turn knowledge, experiences, and challenges into concrete proposals.

Held in parallel with the 20th Gramado Breast Cancer Congress, the meeting was themed "Patient-Centered Clinical Research: Towards Collaboration and Efficiency" and brought together representatives from various segments involved in the development of clinical trials in Brazil.

The program featured presentations offering diverse perspectives on clinical research, covering the role of patient organizations, the challenges faced by research centers, the industry's viewpoint, site selection processes, and the potential of artificial intelligence and connectivity to transform the ecosystem.

Speakers included Dr. Mariana Monteiro, researcher at the Americas Institute and Research Coordinator at SBOC; Dr. Tania Nacamoto, Country Therapeutic Area Leader at Roche; Dr. Guareide Carelli, Medical Director at Thermo Fisher Scientific; and Dr. Alessandra Morelle, CEO and co-founder of Thummi Global.

The CURA Meetings Laboratory was designed as an environment for listening, dialogue, and joint construction. Following the presentations, participants were invited to join three collaborative roundtables, bringing together physicians, research centers, patient organizations, industry, CROs, technology companies, institutions, and supporters.

The goal was to go beyond identifying challenges: participants were invited to share experiences, acknowledge barriers, propose solutions, discuss different perspectives, and prioritize actions with the potential for impact.

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Three roundtables, different perspectives, and a common purpose

The discussions were organized into three main pillars:

Table 1 | Engaging Society
A debate on strategies to expand knowledge about clinical research, strengthen health education, and increase public access to clinical trials.

Table 2 | Transforming the Patient Experience
A reflection on ways to reduce barriers, simplify processes, and strengthen participant recruitment, retention, and engagement.

Table 3 | Modernizing the Ecosystem
A discussion on the role of technology, artificial intelligence, interoperability, and secure data sharing in making clinical research more integrated and efficient.

At the end, each group presented their key recommendations. These contributions will be consolidated by the CURA Meetings Laboratory Scientific Committee, composed of Roberto Arai, Dr. Heloisa Resende, Fernanda Schwyter, Luciana Pereira, and Dr. Max Mano, to create the Gramado Charter.

The document aims to gather the main proposals and commitments made during the meeting, turning diverse perspectives into recommendations that can contribute to clinical research that is more collaborative, efficient, and truly centered on patient needs.

The Gramado Charter will be presented by the Instituto Projeto Cura at a later date. Follow our channels to learn about the results of this collective effort and the next steps.

CURA Meetings content is now available

For those who attended the meeting and those who could not be in Gramado, recordings of the CURA Meetings Laboratory presentations are now available on the Instituto Projeto Cura YouTube channel.

This content allows you to follow the discussions held during the event and explore different perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for the development of clinical research in Brazil.

Watch the full recording of the CURA Meetings Laboratory: YouTube | CURA Meetings Laboratory ‍

Certificates of participation are also available via the Sympla platform for event attendees. To access yours, simply log in to the account used for registration, go to the tickets area, and locate the event under past events. Sympla provides the certificate directly through the platform. Access the CURA Meetings event on Sympla.

We would like to thank the Câncer de Mama Gramado Congress and Daiichi Sankyo for their support, as well as Abracro – the Brazilian Association of Clinical Research Organizations, Acesse – the Brazilian Association of Clinical Research Centers, and GBEDIO for the institutional support that helped make this meeting possible.