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Individual patient data meta-analysis: a cost-effective and efficient tool to advance paediatric research in low- and

Frederick McElwee1, Andrew Farlow2, Philippe J Guerin3,4,5

  • 1Economics of Population Health Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, UK frederick.mcelwee@dph.ox.ac.uk.

BMJ Open
|May 13, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Paediatric clinical research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is insufficient due to commercial barriers. Individual patient data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) offers a cost-effective solution to bridge this gap, as demonstrated in antimalarial drug studies.

Area of Science:

  • Global Health
  • Clinical Research
  • Pharmacovigilance

Background:

  • Significant deficit in pediatric clinical research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared to disease burden.
  • Commercial barriers including lack of market protections and pricing issues hinder industry-funded pediatric research and access to therapeutics in LMICs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To address the research gap in pediatric clinical research in LMICs.
  • To explore the potential of individual patient data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) as a cost-effective research tool.

Main Methods:

  • Leveraging existing clinical trials through data sharing.
  • Utilizing individual patient data meta-analysis (IPD-MA).
  • Case study of recent IPD-MAs on pediatric antimalarial drug safety and efficacy.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated feasibility of IPD-MA for pediatric research in LMICs.
  • Successful application of IPD-MA in antimalarial drug safety and efficacy studies.
  • Highlighted the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of data sharing for research.

Conclusions:

  • IPD-MA is a viable and efficient strategy to bridge the pediatric research gap in LMICs.
  • Data sharing initiatives like WWARN and IDDO are crucial for enabling IPD-MA.
  • Further adoption of IPD-MA can improve pediatric health outcomes in resource-limited settings.

Keywords:
Decision MakingHEALTH ECONOMICSMeta-AnalysisNeglected DiseasesResearch DesignTropical medicine

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