The Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium Research Roundtable is a project of the SCTC which brings together representatives of the SCTC and industry members. The ultimate goals of the roundtable are to improve patients’ quality of life and longevity by promoting the development of high quality clinical trials and improving the efficacy of such trials. The roundtable will seek to facilitate the development and implementation of new treatments for scleroderma by collectively addressing obstacles to research and development and clinical care.

Begun in 2016, the Research Roundtable includes  corporate members, whose representatives participate in the Roundtable to contribute to and benefit from the state-of-the-field scientific discourse, debate, and information sharing in order to advance the field of scleroderma  research and development. Additional participants include the executive of the SCTC and other SCTC members with a particular interest in the design of clinical trials. 

The Roundtable convenes twice each year for coverage of topics identified by Roundtable members as the most current critical needs. Each one day roundtable focuses on one or more  critical issues, and allows an in-depth discussion in a pre-competitive space. 

The Roundtable may also focus on specific issues facing the scleroderma field that are of interest to many of the member companies by forming a Task Force or Working Group. 

Once the topic is selected, the Roundtable Chairs and support staff initiate research into important background material relevant to the issue. The chairs may also invite expert speakers, from the scleroderma community and from other disciplines, to set the stage for discussion. In addition to Roundtable industry and SCTC representatives, Roundtable attendees may include relevant representatives from the scleroderma community, clinicians and regulators. We expect the Roundtable format to provide opportunity for an in-depth discussion of pertinent developments and challenges related to the topic, and in most cases a pathway forward will be identified.

Roundtable members explore a broad range of scleroderma clinical trial topics, including: 

• New data and technologies that may improve the diagnosis of scleroderma, especially in its earliest and mildest stages. 
• Genetic factors and biomarkers that could contribute to an earlier and more accurate scleroderma diagnosis.
• Lessons learned about clinical trial design that may help shape future clinical trials of drugs aimed at slowing or stopping the progression of scleroderma.
• The pros and cons of various scales as outcome measures of clinical trials.
• The development and validation of new outcome measures
• Training and certification of physicians and study coordinators in the methodologies specific to scleroderma trials
• Methods to help and promote recruitment for excellent clinical trials
• Expert review of clinical trial protocols to ensure that every trial is optimized in its methodology

The outputs of Roundtable meetings will be posted on the SCTC website.

Join the Research Roundtable

We invite companies to join the thought leaders in scleroderma research at the Research Roundtable. Sponsorship terms are for 1 year beginning January 1st through to December 31st.

Companies that are involved in developing products for the treatment or diagnosis of scleroderma are invited to become members of the Roundtable. Companies that participate will select tworepresentatives to attend each meeting.  Company representatives will also be asked to participate in the ongoing work of the committees or working groups established at the Roundtable meetings to carry out the specific work of the roundtable projects. Research roundtable members will select the topic for the upcoming Roundtable. 

For more information, please contact:

The SCTC Administrative Assistant

April 19, 2024 at 9:00am - 3:00pm EST in New York City, NY, USA