The CT-Luso Project’s work in strengthening ethical and regulatory capacity for clinical research in Portuguese-speaking African countries was highlighted on 6 October during a meeting with the Portuguese Ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe, Luís Leandro da Silva. The meeting took place during the institutional visit by the Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society to the country.
The CT-Luso training programmes and partner institutions were presented, along with an update on the legislation awaiting promulgation. The meeting also revisited the work carried out under BERC-Luso, the project’s predecessor, and presented DigIn-Luso, a project for which an application has been submitted to the European Commission to continue the work already undertaken.
Cooperation with the diplomatic representations of the partner countries was also discussed, including meetings held by the CT-Luso coordination team in Lisbon to present the project and identify opportunities for cooperation. These contacts included a meeting with the Ambassador of São Tomé and Príncipe to Portugal in February 2025.
In this context, the dialogue and cooperation initiatives promoted by the project were also highlighted, including technical workshops on the harmonisation of legislation and clinical trial procedures, as well as symposia involving diplomatic representatives. These activities have brought together regulatory authorities, ethics committees and experts from the partner countries, through initiatives held at the Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society and at the CPLP headquarters in Lisbon.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss health workforce training needs and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in São Tomé and Príncipe. In the field of oncology, the possibility of developing a local capacity to administer first-line chemotherapy was discussed, in response to needs that currently require patients to travel to Portugal for treatment.
