Training and Development

We decided to go further than “understanding the lie of the land” by creating “the lie of the land” and almost everything on it and around it – a complete, functional, reliable, sustainable, affordable and effective Ecosystem.

MERCLINCO does not subscribe to a stereotype – our work is a reflection of our uniqueness.

MERCLINCO’s unique DRM (De-Risking Model) for Sponsor’s/CRO’s in Africa is a revolution in continuous evolution.

Our Key to Success: “Investment in Site’s!”

• MERCLINCO’s strategic advantage is the investment in the development of our site’s over the last decade.
• Our site-development team created a detailed SDP (Site Development Plan), customised for each and every one of our site’s, by paying meticulous attention to detail of each site’s specific requirements to become a “MERCLINCO Accredited Site” – not defined in status but in substance.
• Each site’s SDP is comprehensive and customised covering all aspects, of conducting a successful clinical trial site, including infrastructure, track record, staffing, regulatory-environment, recruitment, quality, long-term financial-stability, site-sustainability and training requirements.
• SDP’s provided actionable recommendations, factoring in progress and sustainability, which has to be implemented by each site to achieve the substance of being a “MERCLINCO Accredited Site”.
• The SDP exercise was difficult, time consuming and at times very frustrating which stretched our patience and resources.
• A resilient leadership, with a collective mindset to shape what’s next, a culture of excellence and integrity, and a team of competent people, who through grit and tenacity and refusing to capitulate against all the odds, made for the success that we enjoy today.
• As such, our SMO is smart and modern with people from diverse backgrounds able to understand the diverse-needs of diverse-communities in multiple countries thus having established unquestionable integrity that is trusted and admired by our stakeholders.
• We are ready to share the hard-earned fruits of our labour-of-love for the benefit of Sponsors’/CRO’s and Participants.

Our Transformation and Capacity Model – “Investing in diverse youth!”

• As part of Transformation and Capacity Building within our industry and in our continent of Africa, MIT(MERCLINCO Institute of Training) provides different (role-specific) training programmes, inter alia:
• PI & Sub-I Training programme
• CRA Development Programme
• Site Study Coordinator Programme for post graduate students. This programme was initiated in 2018 and has produced >120 graduates that have been successfully appointed within the industry as Clinical Trialists.
• CTA Training
• Data Capturing Training
• Quality Officer Training
• Recruiters Training
• Internal Auditors Training
• Other Benefits from MIT
• SOP Development
• Study specific source development.
• Operations document creation and control.
• Development of new sites in Rural areas and the upskilling of current sites to meet MERCLINCO standards.
• Mentoring PI’s & Sub-I’s in rural areas through our SSP “Satellite Site Project”.

Comment by a Sponsor:

• “Some of these sites may not be as experienced, but it is still worth including and investing in them, because they are the gateway to more diverse trials. One common explanation for excluding less experienced sites is that we would be risking data quality. The reality is, however, that we are already risking data quality by not running diverse trials. In fact, lack of patient diversity is a bigger quality risk because there is no quality for those underrepresented in those clinical trials.”
• MERCLINCO’s DRM mitigates risks to Sponsor’s/CRO’s.