The Shanghai Alliance for Clinical Trials was launched on Dec 30, with the goal of improving the efficiency and quality of clinical trials in the city.

Led by the Academy for Clinical Innovation and Translation of Shanghai, the alliance brings together 45 hospitals and 60 pharmaceutical and medical device companies in Shanghai. It operates under the collaborative guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Shanghai Customs, among other organizations.

The Clinical Research Expert Committee has also been established as part of the alliance, comprising leading clinical research experts and R&D specialists from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

The formation of the alliance comes as Shanghai has identified the biomedical industry as a key future driver of its economy.

"The rapid and high-quality development of biomedical innovation requires collaborative efforts," said Duan Qi, president of ACITS. "We need to deepen mutual trust and cooperation, streamline processes, and ensure early engagement in areas like ethical review and contract standardization."

The alliance aims to address these challenges by providing a platform for resource sharing, consensus building, and standardization across the clinical research ecosystem.

One of the alliance's key initiatives is the release of four consensus documents aimed at streamlining clinical trial contracts, ensuring legal compliance, and improving ethical review processes.

These documents, developed through extensive consultation with hospitals and industry players, aim to expedite project initiation and reduce negotiation time.

"The consensus documents are designed to bridge the gap between hospitals and companies by establishing a common understanding on key aspects of clinical trials," explained Ruan Liangliang, vice president of ACITS.

"This will not only accelerate project timelines but also make Shanghai a more attractive destination for global multicenter trials and innovative research projects."

As part of its commitment to fostering innovation, the alliance also launched the HI-CoNeCT platform, a centralized hub for clinical research collaboration.

This online platform facilitates tri-party collaboration among hospitals, companies, and trial participants. It offers a one-stop solution for managing projects every step of the way — from initiation and ethical review to technology translation and commercialization.

In addition, the event featured the debut of X-Scholar, China's first AI -powered large model for clinical research.

Jointly developed by ACITS and Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, X-Scholar provides personalized access to cutting-edge global clinical research findings for doctors and researchers.

By leveraging artificial intelligence, it empowers all stages of clinical research — including design, execution, analysis and publication — helping accelerate the development of high-quality clinical research outcomes.