About CURC

reated, owned and operated by its members, the Canadian Urology Research Consortium (CURC) is a clinical research investigator network. The Consortium is a national alliance of leading academic and community based urologists committed to furthering urology research in Canada including pharmaceutical trials. The CURC, a non-profit, non-share corporation, has a cooperative relationship with the Canadian Urological Association (CUA).

CURC pursues clinical trials in concert with the pharmaceutical industry to find medicines and cures to tackle urological disorders including, but not restricted to:

• prostatic diseases: hypertrophy, prostate cancer, and prostatitis
• voiding dysfunction
• erectile dysfunction
• bladder, kidney and testicular cancer
• urolithiasis
• urinary tract infections.

Together with industry CURC offers enhanced research options, which ultimately deliver better quality of life to Canadians.

The CURC creates value by:

• Facilitating rapid accrual to clinical trials
• Building and managing national resources to benefit physicians, pharmaceutical industry and the public
• Providing a urology-specific focus and concentration of expertise
• Providing an efficient professional business approach based on fairness, transparency and credibility
• Setting standards for clinical research and clinical trial performance
• Collectively offering enhanced treatment options
• Building awareness campaigns and continued medical education

CURC's success will be measured in our 'giving-back' of knowledge, information and services through:

• Networked clinical trial performance
• Enhanced clinical trial productivity
• Growth in attracting established clinician researchers, young investigators, and residents to ensure the future of the CURC
• Growth in attracting industry players to the CURC
• International outreach to the urological community
• Publication of research
• Self-sufficiency and credibility
• Attaining good corporate citizenship
• Leading urology clinical research in new directions to achieve excellence in clinical care

CURC OPERATIONS:

Based at the Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, CURC Headquarters regularly receives queries, often channelled by its Members, from industry and other interested parties. CURC Headquarters is equipped to quickly provide centralized communications for a variety of projects such as feasibility surveys, expedited reviews of clinical trials, capabilities of research sites or membership on advisory boards.

Potential study sponsors deal directly with the consortium instead of contacting each individual site. The full membership is continuously informed of the projects proposed to the Consortium and what stage of development they are in.

CURC FUNDING:

Industry Projects:

• Investigator Agreements - paid directly to investigators
• CURC Corporate Agreement - paid directly to CURC
• Expedited Review Charges - pass through costs reimbursed by Sponsor.
• Consultancy Fees (Steering Committees / Advisory Boards) - paid to CURC Corporation - 100% redirected to CURC Members who have met obligations.

CURC CORPORATE AGREEMENTS*:

After a project or clinical trial has successfully undergone CURC Expedited Review, a corporate agreement is reached between CURC and the sponsor to move forward with the project or clinical trial. CURC then executes a performance based corporate agreement with the sponsor.

There are 2 basic components to this agreement:

1. Project Management Fee:

   A flat rate project management fee to cover the administrative costs incurred throughout the duration of the project or study.

2. Performance Based Accrual (PBA) Charge:

   In addition to the project management fee, the Sponsor is required to pay CURC a specified amount for every patient entering the project or clinical trial across all CURC participating sites. The full cash value of the agreement is calculated by multiplying the number of subjects enrolled in a given study by a percentage of the per-case funding. An estimate of the PBA charge is pre-determined between the Sponsor and the Consortium, and adjusted accordingly over the progression of the study.

The CURC directs revenues generated from Sponsor Agreements to fund the collective academic, research, corporate and administrative objectives of the Consortium. In return the CURC offers the following value-added services which are of shared benefit to the medical community, pharmaceutical industry both locally and abroad:

• Expedited review of clinical trials and projects
• clinical practice guidelines
• protocol development
• patient registries surveys
• project / clinical trial feasibility assessments
• head-quarter data-base
• site selection
• centralized negotiations and study budgets
• fast track communications
• manuscript / abstract preparation
• representation on Steering Committees, Advisory Boards, 
  Consultancies (ie for regulatory applications) etc.

*[pricing is subject to change without notice]