Category: <span>Quality Activities</span>

We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that Bellberry has been named the South Australian winner in the Championing Health category for the 2025 Telstra Best of Business Awards!

Over the past 20 years, Bellberry has been dedicated to continuously improving our services as a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) provider. This award is a testament to the countless individuals who have contributed to our journey, including our exceptional team, our HREC members, and our outstanding Board.

We would like to thank everyone who has partnered with us in our mission to put research participants at the heart of everything we do, enhancing the quality, efficiency, and impact of research.

A big thank you to Telstra for the thorough awards process, and congratulations to all the finalists and winners – we’re honoured to be in such great company!

Telstra Best of Business Award Winners for SA

The Bellberry Operations Update features practical information in relation to submissions and reviews, along with insights and updates from all sections of the Bellberry operations team and their respective teams.

If you have any feedback or suggestions on what you would like included in these updates please email bellberry@bellberry.com.au

Operations Update – Edition 16

We’re delighted to be a state finalist in the Championing Health category of the Telstra Best of Business Awards! We’ve been designated this category for the impact that Bellberry is making in improving the health of Australians.

We are absolutely thrilled that our incredible team of staff and HREC members are getting this recognition for the extraordinary work they do protecting the welfare of the participant and improving the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of research, every day. Well done team!

Telstra Best of Business Awards Finalists (Championing Health)

Without the patient or participant we would not have clinical trials. These are the people who, in some cases, are volunteering to have treatments that have never been tried on humans before.

In It’s All About the Participant we hear first-hand about what it’s like to be the participant and ask how could the experience be improved for others?

In Episode 9 of From Lab to Life we take a deep dive into the experience of those that have been on life-changing clinical trials.

We have made updates to several documents under Bellberry Applications (BA) and Monitoring of Approved Research (MAR). These changes aim to improve clarity, ensure compliance with current regulations, and enhance the efficiency of our processes. Please review the modified documents to stay informed about the latest updates: BA F5.1.1 Public Photographic & videographic release content We have reviewed and updated the document to clarify that consent is required whenever images are identifiable, not just when they are being published. We’ve expanded the consent statements and rewritten that section for clarity. [select-faq faq_id=’16035′]   BA G9 Advertising and social media We have updated the document to improve wording and provide further clarity, without changing our position. Since this update focuses on wording and clarity, we encourage users to read the document in its entirety instead of relying on small excerpts. Advertising: We now include detailed explanations of the difference between generic and study-specific advertising and guidelines on which types require HREC review. We’ve also added practical examples to help sites make these determinations. Media Coverage: We have added a new section to guide sites on when HREC review is necessary for media coverage and what should be included in a submission. Overall Improvements: We have revised the document to eliminate redundant information and reorganised it for greater clarity.   BA G12 Version control and document naming conventions Previously, BA G12 did not address the practice of distinguishing between Clean and Track change documents. The update to the guidance has introduced a standard notation system—using CL for Clean documents and TK/TC for Track Change documents—which could provide significant benefits:
  1. Clarity: Immediately identifies the type of document, reducing confusion.
  2. Version Control: Helps in tracking revisions and updates accurately.
  3. Efficiency: Facilitates quicker reviews and approvals by clearly showing changes.
While we recognise that version control practices are site-specific and not mandatory, incorporating this notation into our guidance could be particularly valuable for new research sites. It encourages best practices in documentation and version control. [select-faq faq_id=’16037′]   MAR G4 Progress and Final reports Administrative close out of expired applications The following wording has been added to MAR G4: Bellberry will administratively close applications for studies where ethical approval has expired for more than 45 days. If you do not submit a progress report or final report within 45 days of expiration, Bellberry will process a final report to close out the application administratively. The following wording will be on the final report letter: Bellberry has closed this application for administrative purposes following its expiration. If this study is ongoing at your site, you will need to submit a new application. Please contact Bellberry for assistance. Please note:

The ACTA Trial of the Year Awards were established in 2016 to highlight the outstanding Australian achievements that advance clinical practice and save or improve the lives of patients every year. This years awards were celebrated at the 2024 ACTA Trial of the Year Awards ceremony, held on International Clinical Trials Day, Monday 20 May 2024.

Among an outstanding national selection of collaborative, multicenter, investigator-driven trials, the winner of the ACTA Trial of the Year Award was:

ASAP (Australian Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis) Trial: Trial of Vancomycin and Cefazolin as Surgical Prophylaxis in Arthroplasty, Chief Investigator Prof Trisha Peel.

For further details on all the award winners please visit the ACTA website here.

Many congratulations to all the award winners.

Bellberry Limited, Australia’s largest reviewer of human research is celebrating its 20th year of operations. The company is an independent not-for-profit organisation providing research ethics services across Australia.

Bellberry is driven by two key objectives, to protect the welfare of research participants and to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of research. It provides high-quality, time efficient and internationally accredited scientific and ethical review of research projects.

Bellberry provides specialist ethical oversight to almost 40% of clinical trials registered to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which is the Australian equivalent of the FDA in the US or the EMA in Europe.

Starting with one Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) in 2004, 20 years later Bellberry has 12 HRECs operating with 150 members undertaking reviews across all phases of clinical and device trials as well as social and behavioural studies.

Bellberry is at the forefront of global drug development, and is the first organisation in Australia to achieve international accreditation for excellence and ethically sound processes in running HRECs by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP).

Bellberry reinvests all its surplus funds back into the Australian medical research sector.

Bellberry’s Director of Operations, Jerneen Williams, and Director of Strategic Projects, Trina O’Donnell, will be attending BIO Korea.

For media inquiries please contact Alison Rogers alisonrogers@bellberry.com.au

Nominations are open for the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA) Trial of the Year Awards. These awards celebrate the incredible Australians propelling our healthcare system forward through groundbreaking clinical trials.

Nominations close at midnight on Friday 29 March 2024. For more information see the ACTA website here

Bellberry is pleased once again to offer our grant program to support participant engagement at scientific meetings. 

Conference organisers can apply to Bellberry for funding to create or enhance participant-centric programs to enable the participant voice to be represented and heard at their meetings. The ultimate aim of this grant funding program is to improve research by embracing participant perspectives. 

Applicants can apply for a grant up to a maximum of $20,000 – applications for 2024 close on 15 March 2024. 

Visit the link here for the Program guidelines and Application form

In June 2023, Bellberry gathered experts together from across the globe in Adelaide, South Australia, to examine how to achieve better outcomes for patients when it comes to accelerated access to potentially beneficial medicines.

Tune into Bellberry’s latest podcast episode, ‘Tackling A Wicked Problem’, to hear firsthand from some of the attendees of this International Scientific Congress.

Click on the link below or search for ‘Bellberry’ in your favourite podcast platform.

To tune into episode 3, ‘Chasing The Money’, click on the link below or search for Bellberry wherever you get your podcasts.

Happy listening! More episodes to come in early 2024.

 

Bellberry are proud to be the principal sponsor of the ASCEPT (Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists) annual scientific meeting taking place on 20 – 23 November in Sydney.

The COVID outbreak has shown that major scientific advances enabled the world to rapidly adopt cutting edge solutions to the global pandemic and highlighted the very best of our basic, clinical and public health work. The 2023 ASCEPT ASM will look to the next transformational ideas in the pharmacology and toxicology research space.

We look forward to seeing you there!

https://www.asceptasm.com/

The SA Science Excellence and Innovation Awards provide a opportunity to recognise the work of inspiring Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) leaders and teams working in research and education institutions, schools, industry and the community.

Bellberry is proud to be a Gold Sponsor of this event and look forward to attending the awards evening on 17th November which will celebrate the diversity of scientific endeavour and research in SA.

 

 

50 years of innovation in cancer care: Learning from the past to inspire the future

This year COSA (Clinical Oncology Society of Australia) celebrates it 50th ASM! Following 50 years of innovations and progress in cancer care, and 50 years of COSA thriving as a peak multidisciplinary cancer society, this years ASM promises to be exciting and educational.

We look forward to seeing you there!

COSA ASM 2023

Bellberry are once again delighted to be sponsoring and exhibiting at this years AusBiotech conference. For over 37 years, the AusBiotech conference has served as the leading international meeting place for the Australian life science community. The Ausbiotech conference 2023 is an exciting event that showcases the best and brightest in Australian biotech and science. The conference features a range of speakers and exhibitors from across the biotech and science industries, with a focus on innovation, discovery, and the future of these fields.

Bellberry will be exhibiting at Stand 48. Please come and see the team for further information about our HREC meetings, the application process or just for an informal chat! We look forward to seeing you there.