Eliminate Clinical Trial Fatigue With More Effective Recruitment & Retention

By Ed Miseta, Chief Editor, Clinical Leader

The average cost to develop a new drug, for most companies, is in the billions. A key contributing factor to that figure is the cost of enrolling patients. One study has shown that between 2008 and 2011, the cost for a patient in a Phase 1 trial went from $15,000 to over $20,000. For Phase 2 that cost rose from $20,000 to $35,000, and for Phase 3 it rose from $25,000 to $47,000. The smallest increase occurred in Phase 4, where costs rose from $13,000 to $17,000 (see The High Cost of Clinical Research – Who’s To Blame And What Can Be Done?). When a patient drops out of a study, the costs go even higher.

Jim Carroll, VP of Product Management for inVentiv Health Clinical Trial Recruitment Solutions (iCTRS), believes the problem of patient recruitment has been vexing pharma companies for years. “Trials are getting more complicated, and the length of time it is taking to complete them has become very problematic,” he says. “Many sponsors are now seeking new methods and innovations to identify patients willing to engage in trials, especially ones who have not participated in the past.”