WCG Webinars and Podcasts

  1. Jeffrey Borghoff: Finding Joy And Purpose After An Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Diagnosis 10/1/2020

    At 51, Jeffrey Borghoff was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. What would devastate many people turned Borghoff into an advocate. The former software architect and developer is now a national spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Association and board member of the Greater New Jersey chapter. In this podcast, he talks about how the diagnosis forced him to reprioritize his life. “I've been pretty successful at that. I've been leading a very purposeful, engaging, joyful life.” With his care partner—his wife, Kimberly—he travels around the country making the case for research funding—and for clinical trial participation.

  2. On The Future Of Schizophrenia Trials: Part 2 Of Transforming CNS Trials Series 10/1/2020

    Remote assessments have become a necessity across CNS trials, but some areas are more complicated than others. Schizophrenia provides one such example; the risk of variability is high, and sponsors are concerned. PANSS—the gold standard rating scale for schizophrenia primary outcomes—is based largely on face-to-face interviews; it wasn’t developed for remote assessments. Is it still usable? The answer is addressed in this podcast.

  3. On The Future Of Psychiatric Disorders: Part 1 Of Transforming CNS Trials Series 10/1/2020

    The switch to remote methodologies as a response to COVID-19 has had a profound effect on the conduct of psychiatric disorder trials. Supporting these remote trials requires new tools, sophisticated technology and, most important, deep scientific and clinical expertise. COVID-19 has forced everyone involved in psychiatric trials to reconsider not only the tools and technology they use, but the entire patient encounter.

  4. Site/Sponsor Partnerships In The New Normal – How Sanofi’s SMILE Program Drove The Changes We Need Now 9/23/2020

    Now, more than ever, the partnership between sites and sponsors is essential, as we all navigate the changing site environment and workflows necessitated by COVID-19. With its acclaimed “SMILE” (Sanofi Making Investigator Lives Easier) program, Sanofi led the industry in building up those critical partnerships in 2019.

  5. The True Problem Of COVID-19 Misinformation: How The Spread Of Inaccurate Information Harms Our Progress Toward New Therapies 8/27/2020

    The problem of the spread of scientific misinformation is very real. We’ve probably all seen stories on social media about COVID-19, or anonymous testimonies from alleged healthcare providers, some of which seem obviously untrue. This webinar considers how misinformation about clinical trials, treatments and vaccines can impact research progress.

  6. Now Is The Time: Making Your Clinical Trial More Resilient 8/27/2020

    The problem of the spread of scientific misinformation is very real. We’ve probably all seen stories on social media about COVID-19, or anonymous testimonies from alleged healthcare providers, some of which seem obviously untrue. This webinar considers how misinformation about clinical trials, treatments and vaccines can impact research progress.

  7. Public Awareness Of Clinical Research And The Path To Diversity In Clinical Trials 8/5/2020

    COVID-19 and the effort to develop treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 have brought awareness of clinical trials into the public view like never before. What impact is that discussion having on the public’s understanding of clinical trials as part of the drug development process? In addition, there’s been extensive conversation about ensuring COVID-19 treatment studies include an appropriately representative population. How can we advance this important discussion to achieve diversity in research study enrollment?

  8. COVID-19 Changed Everything – Now Contracts & Budgets Need To Catch Up 8/5/2020

    As clinical trials shift quickly and necessarily from in-person to hybrid trials, remote visits, and virtual experiences and support, new opportunities and challenges emerge. While the industry figures out how to best navigate these new challenges, and much remains unresolved, we do know this: Sites and sponsors will be recalibrating everything, especially contract terms and budgets for either new components of trials or changes to clinical research. Site budgets for ongoing studies will need to be recalculated, amended and renegotiated, and contracts and budgets for new studies will have new considerations.

  9. The Challenges Of Developing Vaccines And Treatments For COVID-19 8/5/2020

    During this webinar, we highlight: the remdesivir development pathway and the experience of designing and conducting clinical trials in a brand-new disease without the benefit of medical guidance or regulatory precedent; The status and future of prophylactic vaccine development for COVID-19; The ethical issues of human challenge studies, which can speed vaccine development timelines but require careful consideration because they would intentionally expose study volunteers to COVID-19.

  10. Imagining The Future State Of Clinical Research 8/5/2020

    In this webinar, expert Ken Getz of Tufts CSDD, explores 3 facets of this transitional period: What the clinical research world was really like in 2019, by drawing from the rich data of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD); What the clinical research world may look like in 2021 and beyond, and the potential changes to the ways we design protocols, select clinical sites, and operationalize studies; Whether the public discussion of the development of COVID-19 therapies could potentially be a turning point in the public’s understanding, awareness and engagement with clinical trials.