How Does The LCTC Work?

Academic Centers
The LCTC has selected over 20 academic institutions, or Centers, to receive infrastructure support grants to facilitate their clinical trial research activities and to help each of them maintain readiness for participation in testing for new lupus therapies in clinical trials. Selection criteria for the Centers include having a strong record in running clinical trials, a range of scientific expertise, and geographic as well as patient diversity.

Educational Activities
The LCTC engages in many different types of educational activities aimed at demonstrating the need for lupus clinical research and highlighting issues that are unique to lupus clinical research. For example, the LCTC communicates with potential clinical trial sponsors about the goals of the LCTC, hosts informational booths at major lupus organization conferences, and sponsors meetings of national lupus educational organizations.

Unifying Force in the Lupus Community
The LCTC strives to be a unifying force in the lupus community. For example, the LCTC encourages lupus clinical researchers from the Centers to come together at meetings planned by the LCTC to share their expertise and experiences, with the goal of advancing the science of high quality, efficient lupus clinical trials.

The LCTC is not a clinical trial sponsor, contract research organization, site management organization, or similar entity. The LCTC does not participate in the conduct of clinical trials.