African firms in global value chains: What can we learn from firm‐level data in Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire?

The paper offers a detailed review of African firms' participation to international value chains and provides new quantitative insights on two countries, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, based on a unique dataset, which was obtained by merging firm census and detailed customs transactions over time. “GVC firms” are defined as firms that both export and import, with positive production and labour. The paper characterises GVC firms in the two countries. GVC firms represent about 15% of manufacturing firms; they are more frequent than pure exporters, a sign of the challenges faced by firms in those countries if they want to sell abroad. In line with the literature on firm heterogeneity and trade, firms engaged in GVCs are larger, more productive and live longer than one‐way‐traders or domestic firms. African markets are the main destination of manufacturing GVCs in Ivory Coast, while Cameroon GVC firms rely on OECD (including for agricultural exports). There is limited cross‐penetration between African‐oriented and OECD‐oriented GVC firms over time. The probability of moving into a GVC is higher for exporters than for importers, showing that exporting is a stepping stone for African firms to join a GVC

Current state-of-the-art and gaps in platform trials: 10 things you should know, insights from EU-PEARL

Summary: Platform trials bring the promise of making clinical research more efficient and more patient centric. While their use has become more widespread, including their prominent role during the COVID-19 pandemic response, broader adoption of platform trials has been limited by the lack of experience and tools to navigate the critical upfront planning required to launch such collaborative studies. The European Union-Patient-cEntric clinicAl tRial pLatform (EU-PEARL) initiative has produced new methodologies to expand the use of platform trials with an overarching infrastructure and services embedded into Integrated Research Platforms (IRPs), in collaboration with patient representatives and through consultation with U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency stakeholders. In this narrative review, we discuss the outlook for platform trials in Europe, including challenges related to infrastructure, design, adaptations, data sharing and regulation. Documents derived from the EU-PEARL project, alongside a literature search including PubMed and relevant grey literature (e.g., guidance from regulatory agencies and health technology agencies) were used as sources for a multi-stage collaborative process through which the 10 more important points based on lessons drawn from the EU-PEARL project were developed and summarised as guidance for the setup of platform trials. We conclude that early involvement of critical stakeholder such as regulatory agencies or patients are critical steps in the implementation and later acceptance of platform trials. Addressing these gaps will be critical for attaining the full potential of platform trials for patients. Funding: Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking with support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA