The 4th ICN symposium was successful held in Istanbul, Turkey on 13 September 2018 by one the founding members, Center of Excellence for Clinical Research of University of Istanbul. The symposium highlighted in investigator-initiated clinical research and data sharing. Representatives of ICN shared their local laws, regulations, as well as institutional policies relating to data sharing across countries.
Followed by the symposium, the 4th annual steering board meeting was successfully held at a beautiful off-site venue of Istanbul University on 14 September 2018. Representative of HKU-CTC was invited to do an opening remark by sharing its insights, experiences and current interactions with partners in Mainland China. Various topics, including overview of ICN memberships and operations team, legal and governance aspects, future ICN strategies and ICN outlooks were discussed. In addition, Dr. Thomas Hiemstra of Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit was elected as the new ICN Vice-Chairman during the meeting.