Biomedical research: “Any reform of the organization must as a priority place the researcher in the ‘middle of the village'”

DIn 2019, the National Academy of Medicine warned of the reduction in resources allocated to research in biology and health. Scientific advances and the international reputation of talented researchers and their teams could not mask an overall decline in France’s performance in the field of health research and innovation and, consequently, in training and attractiveness. of these professions.

In twenty years, France has retreated from the 5^e at the 10^e position in medical publications. It is exceeded not only by China and India, but also by countries comparable to ours, Italy, Canada, Australia, and soon Spain, as shown by the recent work of the Court of Auditors and an independent study from January published by France Universities. The absence of a relevant therapeutic or vaccine response during the Covid-19 epidemic was a manifestation of this.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers To save the clinical research sector, we must support employment

In the wake of this observation, which is now shared by many, the Academy proposed, in 2021, several scenarios aimed at rearming and simplifying the overall organization of research. In the field of health, it also underlined the importance of closer integration of university hospitals into the university system, so as to promote the essential continuity between fundamental research, clinical research and innovation.

Disconnection from reality on the ground

Institutional players, denying the gradual decline in France’s rank in biomedical research over the past twenty years, have tried to respond to each new crisis by piling up ever more new structures, agencies and administrations. This complexification of the research landscape is the result of pharmacies or working groups that are most often disconnected from the reality in the field of laboratories and hospital services. Its main effect is to add fog to an already opaque landscape.

Research personnel, far from decision-making centres, were the first to be affected by the growing complexity of their daily lives, by the proliferation of institutional contacts and supervisory bodies, as well as by the increased administrative and regulatory burden. All that energy is wasted on their core business.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers The precariousness of researchers threatens academic freedom

Beyond an increase in resources – the State has begun to take the measure with the recent announcement of investments aimed at accelerating health innovation within the framework of France 2030 –, the actors in the field need just as much a drastic simplification of the overall organization of research. To be useful and accepted by the scientific community, any reform must first and foremost place the researcher “in the middle of the village”. How to do it by simultaneously articulating simplification of the research apparatus and efficiency of a lean administration?

You have 40.91% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.