Peer-reviewed article
Individual patient data meta-analysis: a cost-effective and efficient tool to advance paediatric research in low- and middle-income countries.
McElwee F, Farlow A, Guerin PJ ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a methodological commentary on how individual patient data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) could be used to advance pediatric clinical research in low- and middle-income countries. It discusses barriers to pediatric research in LMICs such as lack of market protections and low ability to pay, and proposes data-sharing approaches as a cost-effective solution. The authors cite examples from antimalarial drug research as evidence of feasibility.
Key points
- There is a research deficit in pediatric clinical trials in LMICs relative to disease burden in children in these settings
- Commercial barriers to pediatric research in LMICs include lack of market protections, low ability to pay, and cost-based pricing
- Individual patient data meta-analysis enabled by data sharing is proposed as a cost-effective tool to bridge research gaps
- Recent IPD-MAs of pediatric antimalarial drugs through WWARN demonstrate the feasibility of this approach
Limitations
This document describes a proposed research methodology rather than evaluating an intervention to improve child well-being. It does not report outcome data on child health or development.
Abstract
There is a deficit between existing levels of paediatric clinical research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and what is warranted based on the disease burden in children in these countries. Lack of market protections, low ability to pay and cost-based pricing are key commercial barriers to industry-funded paediatric research and access to paediatric formulations of therapeutics in LMICs. Individual patient data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) taking advantage of existing clinical trials, enabled by data sharing, is one potential tool to bridge the research gap in a cost-effective and efficient way. Recent IPD-MAs of paediatric antimalarial drug safety and efficacy enabled by the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN), part of the Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO), demonstrate the feasibility of this approach.