The Important Roles And Selection Criteria For CRO Medical Teams For Oncology Development Programs

By Anthony T. Everhart, MD, FACP VP, Medical Affairs, Chiltern, Carlo Lanza, MD, PhD, MSc, Senior Medical Officer, Chiltern, and Dr. Marco Romano, VP, Medical Affairs, Chiltern

As researchers discover more about the biology of cancer, therapeutics are becoming better targeted and more effective. However, this focus on drugs for smaller groups of patients means that designing and running clinical trials is becoming increasingly complex. In order to meet the unmet needs of the growing number of cancer patients, biopharmaceutical companies need to get the right data to pass the hurdles of regulatory approval, reimbursement, and in some countries, recommendation from the health technology assessment bodies (HTAs). These considerations are essential as developing drugs for cancer indications is a costly business. According to a 2013 report from Cutting Edge Information, the average per-patient cost in an oncology phase III trial is $74,800, climbing as high as $110,000.