The Non-Human Primate Research Center (NPRCT) at Chulalongkorn University held the NPRCT-CCU Symposium 2023 last weekend with the aim of advancing medical research in Thailand after the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Chakkaphan Sutthirat, vice president of research at Chulalongkorn, medical researchers around the world have become concerned after the outbreak of the pandemic. These researchers wanted to find ways to prevent the disease from spreading, he said.
He said the NPRCT’s success rate has contributed to local vaccine research over the past four years, especially during the pandemic, by providing primates for testing. The move has lifted the research center onto the global stage, he said.
NPRCT Director Professor Suchinda Malaivisitnon said the research center has become the only center in Asia to meet AAALAC international and OECD-GLP standardization, enhancing the credibility of vaccine research involving the center.
AAALAC International promotes the humane treatment of animals in science and OECD-GLP ensures high quality and reliable test data.
Professor Suchinda argued that contributions to the NPRCT would lead to faster and safer clinical trials.
“The symposium highlighted private sector support for Covid-19 research. [ability to adapt],” she said.
According to Professor Suchinda, standardization will lead to NPRCT cooperation with research centers abroad, including Germany, China, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia.
The symposium also provided a platform for medical researchers to showcase their work on infectious and non-communicable diseases in order to improve the quality of medical research, she said.
Taking this opportunity, the NPRCT has signed cooperation agreements with various medical research centers, including the Center for Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior in Japan, the Parasitology Department of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea. , she said.
Professor Suchinda said the NPRCT’s next move is to help create an OECD-GLP preclinical studies network in Thailand.