On Tuesday 29 September 2026, the Luxembourg Research Clinic (Fuerschungsklinik Lëtzebuerg - LRC) officially launched, bringing together the University of Luxembourg (Uni.lu), the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and the country’s four major hospitals under a shared national platform for clinical and translational research.
The launch took place at Luxexpo The Box in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, at the opening of the Clinical Research Luxembourg Conference, held under the theme “The Future of Patient-Centred Research” on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 September 2026 as part of Healthcare Week Luxembourg.
The LRC builds on more than fifteen years of national investment in translational research and aims to strengthen cooperation between researchers and healthcare providers, while giving patients in Luxembourg greater access to clinical trials and new treatments.
The initiative brings together the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch (CHEM), Hôpitaux Robert Schuman (HRS) and Centre Hospitalier du Nord (CHdN), alongside the Uni.lu and LIH.
According to the organisations involved, the LRC aims to give patients in Luxembourg earlier access to clinical trials and new treatments, while also uniting the country’s healthcare and life sciences research stakeholders.
The launch also saw the introduction of the LRC website and its clinical study portfolio, designed to provide patients, clinicians, research participants and researchers with a single point of entry for clinical research taking place across Luxembourg.
In addition, the LRC launched a research support programme aimed at facilitating clinical studies and trials in six priority areas: neurological diseases; oncological diseases; immunity and infection; cardiovascular disease; primary care and prevention; mental health; and paediatrics and rare diseases.
“The majority of patients with lung cancer, for example, or with complex immunological diseases, are treated within clinical trials. A hospital that doesn't offer clinical trials simply isn't able to offer the latest developments in treatment and diagnostics,” said Prof Dr Christof von Kalle, Director of the LRC.
He added that the new platform would connect Luxembourg’s hospitals, university and research infrastructure in a national effort, with the aim of giving patients across the country access to cutting-edge clinical trials.
The LRC builds on more than fifteen years of national investment in translational research, including the Translational Medicine Operations Hub (TMOH), the Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg (IBBL) and the Luxembourg Clinical and Translational Research Centre (LCTR).
The LIH contributes expertise in cancer, immune-mediated diseases and precision health, as well as data infrastructure and management through its Department of Medical Informatics. The Uni.lu contributes research through its Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences and Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB).
The initiative also responds to a commitment outlined in Luxembourg's 2023 National Health Plan to develop the country's clinical research capacity.
The launch event was opened by Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Research and Higher Education and Minister for Digitalisation. She said: “By supporting this initiative, we are investing in the ability of our clinicians and researchers to work as one team, and in patients' ability to access the best possible care without having to leave the country.”
Prof Dr von Kalle emphasised that the foundations for this collaboration are already firmly in place. “The main challenge is simply getting it organised: putting the right staff and structure inside the hospitals and connecting that to everything that already exists,” he said.
