Institutional and sociopolitical factors in supporting clinical translation: The case of biomedical implant research in Hannover, Germany

Clinical translation denotes a focused and rapid process of transferring scientific knowledge into clinical practice and patient care. As a new model of innovation it has gained importance in the biomedical research in recent years. To identify the current state of clinical translation within the routines of hospital based research, we examine structures of the interdisciplinary research consortium BIOFABRICATION in Hannover (Germany) with regard to translational strategies. Moreover, we illustrate general requirements and infrastructural conditions, which are essential to establish a top-level translation center. Consequently, a translational training programme, standardized processes for documentation as well as a platform to support the communication between translational stakeholders were introduced. As an outlook the framework conditions will be evaluated on translational efficiency. The acquired knowledge will be a first step to develop a guideline for an optimized clinical translation of life science research results. It can be finally used as a role model for the planning and optimization of other translational centers.