Preparedness for clinical research during pandemics: a perspective from the Platform for European Preparedness Against (Re-) emerging Epidemics (PREPARE) in Europe

A new or re-emerging infectious disease pandemic ranks among the highest priorities for civic contingency planning. Despite advances in preclinical and clinical research methods, patient-centered clinical research is not effectively embedded in outbreak responses to inform clinical management of patients and public health responses. Prefunded clinical research networks offer a solution but require well-specified processes for rapid response. We aimed to define a model for how a prefunded clinical research network, Platform for European Preparedness Against (Re-) emerging Epidemics (PREPARE), could rapidly respond at the earliest stages of a new or re-emerging infectious disease outbreak