Category: <span>From Our CEO</span>
Welcome to our newsletter for summer 2025.
The Bell contains a roundup of the activities Bellberry has been involved with in the last few months, including awarding our Bellberry-Viertel Senior Medical Researcher, CT:IQ activities, Thought Leadership series update, our office relocation and more.
If you have any feedback on our newsletter or any suggestions on what to include in our next edition please email bellberry@bellberry.com.au
Bellberry Newsletter Summer 2025
Listen to our brand new podcast series, ‘From Lab To Life’, where we go behind the scenes to understand more about the clinical trial and medical research sector. You’ll hear from experts in the sector, including researchers, clinical trial participants and members of Human Research Ethics Committees, exploring challenges and opportunities facing the health and medical research world.
As Bellberry celebrates its 20th year of operation in 2023/24, in this first episode Creating Difference, Bellberry’s CEO, Kylie Sproston talks about what Bellberry is and how it works.
Bellberry is a values-driven organisation working in research ethics, where respect is a fundamental principle that guides the work that we do. Bellberry is committed, through our work, and the principles enshrined in the NHMRC National Statement, to people having a voice in decisions that affect them. The Voice is a step that Australia can take to embody those principles.
Bellberry is proud to confirm its support for the proposed constitutional amendment to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the First Peoples of Australia. This support aligns with our work in research ethics, and the work that we are undertaking as part of our Reconciliation Action Plan.
Bellberry recognises that there will be a diversity of views among its staff, members, and broader community. Every Australian will come to their own decision on the referendum and Bellberry respects this and their right to vote in accordance with those views.
Issued by the Board of Bellberry, September 2023On International Clinical Trials Day, we’re proud to publish the Bellberry Clinical Trial Activity Report 2021. This second annual publication represents a significant proportion of the Australia wide CTN trial activity across the development lifecycle. It demonstrates capability and capacity in a broad range of research areas. The report also captures the originating funding location for inward investment in Sponsored clinical trials, again demonstrating Australia’s active participation in the global development process.
In this reporting period Bellberry was also delighted to become the first Australian organisation to achieve accreditation by the global Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP).
If you have any questions relating to this data, please contact us at bellberry@bellberry.com.au
Click here to register and download the Bellberry Clinical Trial Activity Report 2021
Melanie Gentgall, CEO of Praxis Australia, has been shortlisted for Pro Bono Australia’s Impact 25 awards. These awards seek to recognise and celebrate the amazing people delivering incredible outcomes in the Not For Profit sector.
Through Praxis, Bellberry seeks to support education that in turn delivers on our core objectives of improving the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of research and the welfare of research participants. Melanie joined Bellberry to explore and establish this education initiative and has been the energetic custodian that has overseen its transformation into the independent NFP Praxis that you see today.
Bellberry is exceedingly proud of both Melanie and the work of Praxis. If you would like to cast your vote to support Melanie and to recognise her achievements with Praxis, please click on the link below. Voting closes on Thursday 12 Feb.
Leading Australian pharmacist and Bellberry board member, Emeritus Professor Lloyd Sansom, has been awarded one of the profession’s highest international honours, the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s (FIP) André Bédat Award. The award is given in recognition of an outstanding contribution to pharmaceutical practice, and is awarded every 2 years.
Lloyd joined Bellberry as a board member in 2012 and has been an invaluable contributor to the Bellberry team. In 2014, he played a pivotal part in the ‘Challenges of Early Crossover in Clinical Trial Design for Oncology’ conference which Bellberry hosted. The conference resulted in the formation of a Scientific Advisory Committee which consisted of an international panel of experts and was chaired by Lloyd. The Advisory Committee developed best practice guidelines for trial design and statistical methods which were published by the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care (Cambridge University Press).
Lloyd is a distinguished educator, researcher and policy advisor and has an illustrious career in health and pharmacy. He has a particular research interest in pharmacokinetics, biopharmaceutics, the quality use of medicines and pharmaceutical policy.
The Bellberry team would like to extend their many congratulations to Lloyd on being awarded this prestigious honour. Further information on the award can be found here.
Bellberry are delighted to announce that we have appointed a Quality Manager to the growing Bellberry team. Alison Barr joined us in this role on the 14th May 2018.
Alison has been in the position of Research Governance Officer at Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (22 sites and incorporating the Lyell McEwan) and the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (30 sites) for the last 6 years. Prior to that, Alison spent 6 years as Coordinator in the Heamatology/Oncology Clinical Trials Unit at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Alison started her career in health and research administration and has experience of both public and academic research settings. Alison has been involved in national projects such as the NHMRC Good Governance Pilot Project.
The role of a specialist Quality Manager will take responsibility for policy and compliance; the annual site monitoring plan; continuous improvement projects and HREC accreditation (local and international).
We are delighted to announce that Bellberry, ACTA, NHMRC CTC and The George Institute have formed a consortium ‘Clinical Trials: Impact & Quality (CT:IQ)’.
The consortium’s mission is “to develop and implement recommendations that will improve the impact, quality and efficiency of clinical trials, leading to more rapid, lower cost and higher quality evaluation of healthcare interventions in Australia”. CT:IQ will drive performance and impact improvements in Australian Clinical Trials; together we will be Thinking Smarter about Clinical Trials.
CT:IQ is modelled on the highly successful US FDA-funded Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI). The pilot project is co-funded by MTPConnect and has commitment from a range of organisations and stakeholders from the Australian Clinical Trials sector.
CT:IQ will be formally launched by Minister Hunt and Minister Cash on Wednesday 16 May at the Royal Melbourne Hospital from 10.30am. This event is also a collaborative effort and will launch CT:IQ, celebrate the ACTA Clinical Trial of the Year Awards and launch the NHMRC consumer engagement campaign. This will be followed by a CT:IQ lunchtime symposium. Registration is free but numbers are strictly limited: https://acta_awards_2018.eventbrite.com.au
For more information, contact Programme Manager Rebecca Trowman at rebeccatrowman@bellberry.com.au
Bellberry has two objectives: to protect the welfare of human research participants and to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of research.
In 2017 we worked with a number of partner organisations to imagine a structure to address the question of Continuous Improvement in the Australian Clinical Research sector. Our founding co-partners include the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA), the George Institute, and NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre. Bellberry were successful in attracting co-funding from the Pharmaceutical sector growth centre (MTPConnect) to establish a 2-year pilot programme to explore this idea.
The project is due to launch at the start of April and it will be funded for 6 improvement projects. Those specific projects are yet to be finalised, but will be in areas such as Participant Information and Consent, Governance, Big Data and Health Ethics, Novel Trial Structures and Facilitating Multi-Centre Trials.
To assist with the establishment and launch of the initiative, I am delighted to announce we have appointed Rebecca Trowman Day to act as the Programme Manager. Rebecca has a Health Science and Epidemiology background. She has spent the last 10 years in global policy and scientific advisor roles to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (the UK authority better known as NICE), Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) and the WA Chief Medical Officer. We welcome Rebecca to the Bellberry team and look forward to the project launch.
Kylie Sproston – Bellberry CEO
Michael James has kindly chaired Committee H since its establishment in May this year, in addition to his regular Committee C Chair role.
Bellberry are now delighted to announce that Associate Prof Mark Slee, of Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre, has been appointed as the dedicated Chair for Committee H.
Mark is a senior consultant neurologist and clinical academic at Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders University. Mark’s main clinical interest is in immune mediated nervous system disease, especially multiple sclerosis. He completed fellowships in Oxford, UK, and Austin Hospital, Melbourne in clinical neuroimmunology and neurophysiology. Mark established the Flinders MS service in 2007, which has grown into one of the largest services of its kind in SA, combining basic and clinical research with clinical care. Mark was the inaugural Chair, Australian MS Clinical Trials Network and he served on the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network ethics committee from 2007 to 2013. He is current Vice-Chair of MS Research Australia grants management committee and has had recent roles as Associate Dean, Director of the Flinders MD and Associate Dean, Head of Medical Science and Technology at Flinders University.
Mark’s work history and academic output can be viewed at http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4323-2453 .
Our September issue contains the latest news about our 8th HREC, our new IT partner, the IMNIS programme, PRAXIS and much more – give it a read!
Click here to read our exciting March newsletter with details of our new Committee’s, donation information, NHMRC adverse events reporting changes, staff changes and much more!
Bellberry are thrilled to launch their partnership with The South Australian Health and Medical Institute (SAHMRI) to establish the Bellberry Molecular Imaging Program; a project that will allow the development of a series of diagnostic agents that will enhance SAHMRI’s ability to deliver improved healthcare, clinical trial capacity and translational health outcomes.
This partnership will deliver world-class research, which will both attract the pharmaceutical industry and retain the brightest scientists in the field to South Australia.
The importance of Imaging
Imaging has become a powerful tool in SAHMRI’s research strategy. In particular, molecular imaging provides the ability to use radiopharmaceuticals to study the functionality and progression of disease.
This program offers the opportunity to study how diseases may behave differently in individual patients, with important implications in the development of a more personalised approach to disease diagnosis and treatment.
Thanks to this support from Bellberry, South Australians will be able to benefit even more from the state’s only cyclotron that is housed at SAHMRI.
Over the next seven years, tracers will be developed for diseases ranging from bone, breast and prostate cancers, through to Parkinson’s Disease, Epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Molecular imaging permits the ability to locate disease, reveal its individual components, and could potentially also help examine disease mechanisms, and markedly advance the personalisation of disease prevention and treatment.
A partnership to benefit all South Australians
SAHMRI’s Executive Director, Professor Steve Wesselingh, said that the benefits of this partnership with Bellberry are countless.
“The Bellberry Molecular Imaging Program will advance South Australia as a leader in translational biomedical research by improving health outcomes, growing the knowledge economy and attracting industry partners as Australia looks to rapidly expand the health and medical sector as a major economic priority,” he said.
“We are incredibly grateful to Bellberry for their support and belief in this program.”
Director of SAHMRI’s cyclotron, Prab Takhar, said that this funding allows the cyclotron to develop a platform that will transform clinical care and research in the state in a very short time frame.
“This funding has already enabled us to begin developing agents, which are being used clinically in the state.”
Bellberry Limited’s Chief Executive, Ms Kylie Sproston, said “Bellberry exists to support research and ethics, to protect the welfare of research participants and to improve research. We are delighted to support the availability of these capabilities at SAHMRI, for the use of researchers throughout the State”.
Following an exceptionally busy year in 2016 with a total of 78 HREC meetings held, Bellberry have registered our seventh and eighth HRECs with the NHMRC.
We are now delighted to announce that Professor Ben Canny has been appointed as our Committee G Chair. Prof Canny is already familiar with Bellberry after joining as a member of our HRECs in June 2016.
Ben is Head of Medicine at University of Tasmania where he is responsible for the Divisions of Medicine, Pharmacy, Psychology and Paramedicine. Prior to this he was Associate Dean in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University and President of the Academic Board. Ben is an experienced researcher and we welcome the breadth of research and ethics experience he brings to Bellberry having Chaired the Monash University HREC for five years. More information can be seen at: http://www.utas.edu.au/profiles/staff/health/ben-canny. Ben will commute to Adelaide for the monthly Committee G meetings.
We are also pleased to announce Dr Michael James has been appointed as our Committee H Chair in addition to his ongoing long-term role as Chair of Committee C. Michael is Chief Medical Scientist within the Rheumatology Unit at Royal Adelaide Hospital and Professor within the Discipline of Medicine at University of Adelaide.