CERMEL and BNITM Mark Clinical Trials Day with a Call for Ethical, Innovative, and Collaborative Research

On May 20, 2025, eWHORM partner CERMEL celebrated Clinical Trials Day in Lambaréné, Gabon. The event, held in collaboration with eWHORM partner BNITM, included members of CERMEL's institutional ethics committee, representatives from the National Ethics Committee of Gabon, and the general public. The celebration highlighted three essential pillars of a strong research system:

• Ethics: Ensuring the protection of participants, respecting human rights, and maintaining scientific integrity.

• Innovation: Incorporating new technologies and methodological approaches to enhance data quality and trial efficiency.

• Collaboration: Fostering partnerships among researchers, institutions, countries, and communities to build trust, share resources, and increase scientific impact.

Opening the event, Professor Peter Kremsner, President of CERMEL, emphasized the transformative role clinical trials play in improving health outcomes. He reaffirmed CERMEL’s commitment to advancing ethical research that serves both local and international needs.

Professor Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma, Principal Investigator for eWHORM at CERMEL, highlighted recent advances in decentralized trial models and the increasing leadership role of African research centers in global studies, and stated:

“In a global context of rapidly evolving health challenges, Africa—and Gabon in particular—must strengthen its capacity to produce robust scientific data from well-supervised, ethical clinical trials tailored to its realities. […] Research and clinical trials create an ecosystem that benefits the places where the research is conducted. It is here in Lambaréné that most of the drugs currently used in Gabon have been evaluated.”

A panel discussion with Gabonese and international experts shed light on challenges in ethical review processes and the importance of meaningful community engagement—especially in protecting vulnerable populations. The event concluded with a discussion on strengthening collaboration between researchers and ethics committees to ensure compliance with Good Clinical Practices (GCP).

Professor Patricia Mawili Mboumba, Vice-President of Gabon’s National Ethics Committee, underscored the shared responsibility:

“We are here to support and care for the citizens, as well as to enhance the ethical dimensions of clinical trials.”

The event received national media attention and was featured on television. Watch the coverage here (starting at 22:50).