Don't Take It For Granted

By Kevin Williams, CFS Clinical

Investigator grant payments are typically the single greatest expense in a clinical trial budget, often accounting for 40 to 60 per cent of the total budget. As a result, it would seem logical for biopharmaceutical sponsors to allocate an appropriate level of resources to manage this expense – and yet, most organisations have never had the wherewithal or focus to give this signifi cant expense item the attention it deserves.

While many advances have been made to the operational conduct of clinical trials over the last few years, the fi nancial and business aspects have not seen similar improvement. The reality is that the clinical and data components have rightfully taken precedence over research operations. Whether it is study feasibility modelling, enhanced recruitment techniques, or improvement of the clinical data model, these critical mechanisms have been in the spotlight of clinical development advancement.