Clinical Development
Question Based Clinical Development facilitates the design of a rational and efficient development pathway for new medical interventions. Learn the principles behind QBCD and how to apply it to real R&D projects.
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Signup for 30 Oct 2023
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Clinical Development Online
standalone or part of the blended course package
Want to have a look at the way we teach online?
Learn how to use the QBCD approach to formulate key questions when developing a new medical intervention
Learn how to deal optimally with development risks and costs
Learn how to work with the QBCD software program
Discuss online with peers and receive feedback from your course instructor
Clinical Development On-campus
prerequisite: online course
Everything from
Online +
Experience the challenge of decision making on R&D projects
Learn from the successes and failures of real-world R&D projects
Learn from your group members in small, interdisciplinary working groups
Hear about first-hand experiences from industry experts
Learn more below or sign-up for this course directly
One module, different options
The best way to experience our modules is to follow the blended route. The online course acts as a prerquisite for the on-campus part.
This module scores 82%
Scholarship
Scholarships are available for our courses. Read more about current scholarships and how to apply.
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The mix worked well
I was impressed with the versatility of the learning environment. The mix of texts, PDFs, videos, questions and assignments worked wonderfully well!
Erik van Beers, Skyline DX, Clinical Development Online graduate

Challenging content
I thoroughly enjoyed this course! The content, consisting of great videos, articles, and assignments, both challenged and matched my knowledge of clinical development.
Jaap Sniekers, Novartis, Clinical Development Online graduate

Nicely set up
I think this course is very nicely set up, with a mix of videos, explanations, examples and self-assessments.
Nicoline Treijtel, Astellas, Clinical Development Online graduate

A world of knowledge
This training opened my eyes to a whole new world of knowledge on the development of medical interventions.
Willem Birkhoff, Centre for Human Drug Research, Clinical Development Online graduate
We understand if you want to have a look at this course. Login or create an account to access a free demo of the online course.
A confirmation email will be sent to new registrations. After completion, you're able to acces the online demo.
This online course can be taken as a stand-alone course or as part of the blended learning-by-doing course Clinical Development, giving you the freedom to learn online in a time and place independent fashion from anywhere where you have internet access. At the end of the online course you will take a short online exam; participants who pass the exam will receive a certificate of completion and are eligible for the on-campus course held in the beautiful Castle Oud Poelgeest near Leiden in the Netherlands.
What makes this course special?
This online course is the first part of our blended course that also includes an on-campus course. In the online course, you will be introduced to Question-Based Clinical Development (QBCD), an innovative approach to designing a rational and efficient pathway for developing new medical interventions. The QBCD concept is derived from Real Options Theory, which is commonly used by the oil industry to deal with the high levels of uncertainty and large investments that are also common to clinical development. Adapted to the biomedical industry, QBCD offers significant advantages compared to the commonly used net present value (NPV) and risk-adjusted project value calculations. Specifically, the goal of QBCD is to optimize project value by identifying and addressing critical questions early, thereby streamlining the development of new medical interventions.
What will you learn?
In this 5-week course, you will learn the basic principles of QBCD and how to apply this approach to teaching cases based on real-world R&D projects. Using these principles and clear examples, you will learn to identify the key questions that must be answered when developing new medical interventions such as medicinal products, vaccines,
4 things you will take away from this course
During this course, you will:
- Learn how to use the QBCD approach to formulate key questions when developing a new medical intervention;
- Learn how to deal optimally with development risks and costs;
- Learn how to work with the QBCD software program; and
- Engage in online discussions with your peers and receive feedback from your course instructor.
Article in Nature Biotechnology
We recently published the QBCD approach in the prestigious journal Nature Biotechnology; you can download the article (if you experience problems downloading the file, please contact us).
I know enough, let's
Clinical Development contributors
On-campus

Nacer Lounis
Senior Principal Scientist
Janssen Pharmaceutica
On-campus

Tine de Marez
Senior Director, Compound Development Team Leader TB
Johnson & Johnson
On-campus

Erik Niks
Neurologist - Pediatric neurologist
Leiden University Medical Center
On-campus

Piet Hinoul
Global Head, Pre-Clinical, Clinical and Medical Affairs
J&J Ethicon
On-campus

Ad Sitsen
Owner
ClinPharMed Consultancy for Drug Development

Paul Stoffels
Chief scientific officer
Johnson & Johnson

Tom Huizinga
Head of the Department of Rheumatology
Leiden University Medical Centre
On-campus

Marcel Kenter
Director
Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden
On-campus

Koen Andries
VP Scientific Fellow Infectious Diseases Discovery
Janssen Pharmaceutica NV
On-campus

Andreas Wallnöfer
General Partner
BioMed Partners Venture Capital (former Head of Clinical Research & Exploratory Development at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.)
On-campus

Justin Hay
Pharmacokinetics Assessor
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
On-campus

André Elferink
Clinical epidemiologist
Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board
On-campus

Rob Zuiker
Senior Clinical Scientist
CHDR

Hans-Georg Eichler
Senior Medical Officer
European Medicines Agency
On-campus

Robert Klautz
Thoracic Surgeon
Leiden University Medical Centre
On-campus

Matthijs Moerland
Research Director Translational Biomarkers
CHDR

Joris Rotmans, MD, PhD
internist-nephrologist
LUMC
On-campus

Janneke Meulenberg
CEO
Arthrogen

Inge de Lepeleire
Director Translational Pharmacology
MSD Europe
On-campus

Koos Burggraaf
Research Director CVS & Metabolism
CHDR

Johan Garssen
Director Immunology Platform
Danone/Nutricia Research
On-campus

Ingrid de Visser
Senior Clinical Scientist
CHDR

Rick Kuntz
Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific, Clinical and Regulatory Officer
Medtronic
On-campus

Geert Jan Groeneveld
Research Director CNS
CHDR

Oliver Bisazza
Director Regulatory Policy
Medtronic

Saco de Visser
Teacher and Clinical Pharmacologist
Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden
On-campus

Adam Cohen
CEO and clinical pharmacologist
Centre for Human Drug Research

Richard Shull
Head of Deal Structuring and Trading Fundamentals
Shell

Pierre Peeters
Former site head early stage development
Organon