The Future Of Clinical Research Technology

No human endeavor is immune to change, and that is certainly true for clinical research. John Neal, CEO of PCRS Network, spent a year talking to sponsors, management, and other various roles in clinical research in an effort to identify the factors that are shaping the future of clinical research. And while the views vary, one factor looms above all others.

“There’s a consensus that the system is broken,” says Neal. “It’s not sustainable. It all comes down to money.”

According to Neal’s research, the average cost to take a drug from discovery through approval is $1.5 billion. And the cost isn’t dropping.

“Every indication is that without change, that number’s going to continue to increase,” Neal adds. “That is especially true for larger pharmaceutical companies that are testing multiple drugs trying to bring multiple products to market. Some of those drugs don’t make it, which raises the average cost of the drugs that do make it to market. As an industry we need to change, and there are plenty of things that are going to drive that change.”