Grant Payment Practices: Five Requirements For Stronger Investigator Relationships

By James M. Dicesare and Kevin T.Williams, Clinical Financial Services, LLC (CFS).

In the clinical trials industry, profitability and regulatory compliance pressures continue to mount. Consequently, pharmaceutical companies are striving to maximize their research and development spending by reducing clinical trial cycle times and focusing on their core competencies—all while maintaining high standards of quality.Meanwhile, the number of clinical trials is growing exponentially, protocols are becoming more complex, regulatory requirements are becoming more stringent—and electronic data capture (EDC) is placing additional burdens on investigators. And yet, even as sites are asked to do more, many sponsors continue to issue payments that are late and often difficult for sites to decipher. In fact, many sites that serve pharmaceutical companies are struggling to maintain financial viability.

The result: a low level of satisfaction among investigative sites. To be sure, there is much room for improvement, and forward-thinking sponsors realize that the current situation is untenable. To ensure a base of high-quality, financially stable investigative sites, sponsors need to build and maintain strong, effective investigator relationships. One of the best ways to start is by using a new and better approach to grant payment practices.

Indeed, implementing sound grant payment practices can not only have a significant positive impact on investigator relationships and satisfaction, but also can help sponsors accelerate cycle times and reduce clinical trial costs. In this paper, we outline the underlying challenges of grant payment practices for both sites and sponsors, provide an overview of the five requirements for a world-class approach to administering investigator grant payments, and offer suggested criteria for evaluating partners who can assist sponsors in implementing such an approach.