The Secret To Achieving A Smarter Long-Term Clinical Data Strategy

Investing in the right partner can pay dividends

There is a tendency for Sponsors to view data management and analysis as a commodity business – something that one Contract Research Organization (CRO) can do as well as another. But the truth is, it demands a level of expertise and attention that is not always available in CROs for whom it is not the core component and specialty of their business.

However, emerging and mid-sized biopharma companies often tend to turn to a single CRO partner to manage all aspects of their clinical trials to include recruitment, monitoring and site management, as well as data management, analytics and biostatistics (although they often select different full-service vendors for different trials). The rationale for choosing this full-service outsourcing model can be summed up in one word: convenience. Contracting and oversight is simplified, and Sponsors have but “one throat to choke” should issues arise.

Even so, there are compelling reasons for Sponsors to carve out the data management and analytics responsibilities from the full-service contract and assign them to an organization specializing in those functions. Investing up front in the right advisors and systems, which form part of a proactive, bespoke data strategy, can pay dividends that outweigh and outlast the initial convenience factor. In providing the most appropriate data strategy for the trial or program, the right CRO who specializes in data and analytics can deliver efficiencies that ensure the integrity of the data collected, support clinical and medical monitoring processes in real time, enable robust data analysis, and speed database lock.