Adaptive Platform Trials Conference

October 19 (open to all) and October 20 (by invitation only), 2026

Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, 209 Victoria St., Toronto, Canada M5B 1X2

Join us for a unique opportunity to connect with researchers, professionals, trainees, and community members as we explore the latest advancements and best practices in adaptive platform trials.

The Adaptive Platform Trial (APT) Conference will be held on October 19 and 20, 2026, at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute in Toronto. October 19 is open to all and October 20 is by invitation only. This event is being organized by the Upstream Lab at Unity Health Toronto.

This international conference will bring together investigators, clinicians, scientists, research staff, trainees, and health system leaders from Canada and abroad to advance the design, implementation, and global coordination of adaptive platform trials. Building on the success of previous APT conferences in 2024 and 2023 and the lessons learned from CanTreatCOVID, the conference will also highlight progress on TreatResp, an international adaptive platform trial evaluating treatments for acute respiratory infections. Registration is now open.

Call for Abstracts

Submit ongoing or complete research projects related to adaptive platform trials (APTs). Topics may include trial design, implementation, statistical methodologies, and findings of APTs.

Submission guidelines:

  • Length: 350 words maximum
  • Submission deadline: Sept. 10, 2026
  • Send submissions to TreatResp@unityhealth.to with subject line: Abstract – APT Conference

Objectives

Implementation

Understand the key elements of designing and implementing adaptive platform trials.

Operation

Gain insights into the operational aspects of adaptive platform trials, such as protocol development, CRF design, data management, and the role of standardization and operational documents.

Analysis

Understand the importance of pre-trial model-based simulations and interim statistical analyses for adaptive platform trials.

Ethics Approval

Learn about the ethical considerations, best practices, and the role of Research Ethics Boards in operationalizing ethical guidelines throughout adaptive platform trials.

Engagement

Explore strategies for effective engagement and involvement of participants, including patients and other stakeholders, in the adaptive platform trial process.

Networking

Connect and learn with experts, researchers, professionals, and trainees working on adaptive platform trials.

Agenda

October 19, 2026

Registration and Welcome

Registration opens

Light breakfast will be provided

Objective: To explain why adaptive platform trials remain useful outside a pandemic — as a standing way of producing comparative evidence that clinicians, health systems, and policymakers can act on

Morning sessions

Objective: To review what COVID-19 trials showed about how quickly and reliably evidence can be produced, and identify which clinical and operational questions remain unanswered

Objective: Discuss what is needed to build and maintain the infrastructure that allows large, innovative clinical trials to run well outside of a public health emergency

Objective: To compare how adaptive platforms are designed for different conditions, populations, and settings, with attention to domains, arm selection, shared controls, outcome choice, and decision rules

Objective: To describe how platform trials can be built into routine care and clinical data systems so that trial evidence and everyday practice inform each other

Lunch and Poster viewing

Afternoon sessions

Objective: To examine how patients and communities can shape the design and conduct of platform trials, and how their involvement can improve trial relevance, acceptability, and equity.

Objective: To determine which elements of an international platform must be common across all sites and which can be decided locally
Objective: To assess how new data sources, computational tools, consent models, and regulatory guidance could make trials faster, less costly, and open to more patients
Objective: To show how platform trial evidence can inform decisions beyond treatment efficacy, including public health policy and health system planning

Objective: To share practical lessons from coordinating and delivering an adaptive platform trial across general practice settings in Europe, including recruitment, site engagement, trial operations, implementation challenges, and approaches that could inform the development of sustainable primary care APT infrastructure in Canada.

October 20, 2026 – by invitation only

By invitation only 

Scientific Committee

Benita Hosseini

PhD MSc

Andrew Pinto

MD CCFP FRCPC PhD MSc

John Marshall

MD, FRCSC, FACS, FCAHS

Srinivas Murthy

MD

Ryan Zarychanski

MD, MSc, FRCPC, FCAHS

Patrick Lawler

MD, MPH, FRCPC

Kieran Quinn

MD, PhD, MSc

Learn. Connect. Transform.

The APT Conference is for clinical trialists, clinical investigators, statisticians, trial methodologists, health economists, policymakers, patient advocates, and trainees interested in the use, design and implementation of platform trials.

Sponsors and Supporters

The Upstream Lab is organizing the 2026 Adaptive Platform Trials Conference. This non-profit research group, based at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the population by addressing social determinants of health, using artificial intelligence, and conducting trials.

Get in touch

Questions? Contact TreatResp@unityhealth.to

Date: October 19-20, 2026

Location:

Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, 209 Victoria St., Toronto, Canada M5B 1X2

We acknowledge that this event is happening on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Huron-Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

The APT Conference is for clinical trialists, clinical investigators, statisticians, trial methodologists, health economists, trainees, policymakers, patient advocates, and anyone interested in the use, design and implementation of platform trials.

Register for the APT Conference on Eventbrite.

We appreciate your interest in contributing to the conference. Please contact our organizing committee at TreatResp@unityhealth.to to inquire about speaking at the APT Scientific Meeting. We welcome diverse perspectives and expertise.