Clinical Operations Featured Articles

71. How Payment Automation Can Improve Site Satisfaction 9/29/2016

    I recently wrote an article that focused on the frustrations sites have with sponsors. Their greatest gripe, to no one’s surprise, is site payments. Sites receiving payments late, and receiving a check with no supporting documentation, can cause delays and frustration, especially for smaller sites that can’t float a payment for three months or longer.

72. Adaptive Trials: Complex But Advantageous 9/28/2016

    When I speak with pharma executives on certain topics, it’s amazing to see the difference in where companies stand in terms of implementation. Adaptive trials is one of those topics. I will talk to one executive who will tell me it is one of the trends that will most impact the pharma industry in the coming year, and then talk to another who will tell me it’s old news and something they have been doing for years. Regardless of where you stand with adoption, one thing is clear: Adaptive trials have many advantages, but are also more complex.

73. Clinical News Roundup: HHS To Provide More Info To Patients 9/23/2016

    Clinical News Roundup for the week of September 19, 2016 with stories on HHS and ClinicalTrials.gov, FDA approval of Exondys51, DCRI coordinating National Study of Childhood Health, and the world's largest breath-based clinical trial.

74. CROs Can Be Indispensable As Pharma Companies Focus On Value 9/15/2016

    The healthcare industry’s transition to value-based care is putting a lot of pressure on pharmaceutical companies in terms of margins and the need to demonstrate improved outcomes at lower costs. In attempting to create breakthrough therapies and “beyond the pill” solutions with fewer resources, companies are demonstrating an increased appetite for outsourcing functions – and Contract Research Organizations (CROs) could be the beneficiaries.

75. 3 Things You're Doing That Drive Your Sites Insane! 9/15/2016

    Many pharma companies have become focused on becoming a sponsor of choice. We believe this comes from the recognition that partnerships are a two-way street. In order for the industry to conduct trials faster, more efficiently, and at a lower cost, sites and CROs need to be better partners to pharma. At the same time, however, pharma needs to be a better partner to sites and CROs. Still, many wonder what it means exactly for a sponsor to be a better partner.

76. SCDM Best Practices Now Available To Nonmembers 9/13/2016

    Data managers are critical to the clinical research process. It’s the data they collect which will ultimately determine whether a new drug gains FDA approval. Recognizing that, the Society for Clinical Data Management (SCDM) was established to work with the teams creating clinical trials, writing the protocols, and identifying the information that needs to be captured. Over the years, the information gathered by SCDM members has been incorporated into a guide book of Good Clinical Data Management Practices, which SCDM is now making available to nonmembers as well as association members.

77. Israel's Emergence As A Go-To Market For Conducting Clinical Trials 9/1/2016

    Driven by the steep costs of hosting clinical trials in the United States and Western Europe, pharmaceutical companies have increasingly turned to global markets to conduct trials over the last decade. During that timeframe, Israel has emerged as an attractive market – bolstered by its high-quality medical infrastructure and well-trained physician workforce, diverse patient population and widespread adherence to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) standards.

78. Phase I Clinical Supply Landscape: Trends, Demarcation And Security 8/30/2016

    The core addressable early phase market is USD 11.9 billion growing with a CAGR of 2 – 3 percent. Early-phase trials are outsourced at greater than 60 percent by pharma, as the trials are costly and small in number. The supply market for early phase is comprised by CROs, research centers, and academic institutes. The market size that is comprised by the CROs is estimated to be around USD 8 billion, which is about 67 percent of the early phase market.

79. Pharma And Physicians – The Key To Successful Clinical Trials 8/30/2016

    Traditionally in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry worlds, a pharma company develops a candidate product and then works with a group of doctors to test that product under careful standards and procedures—very much managed by the pharma company. If the product shows therapeutic value and safety, it becomes available to prescribers to administer to patients.

80. mHealth Panel: Make Progress, Not Excuses 8/30/2016

    I recently moderated a couple panel discussions at the 2016 eyeforpharma Data Quality & Technology in Clinical Trials conference in Philadelphia. One of the panels was on the use of mobile and wearable technologies in clinical studies. While many sponsors continue to cite concerns over regulatory issues, other companies are moving forward with their adoption. But what are the main concerns companies face, and how can they be best overcome?