Rare Disease

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Rare Disease Patients as Partners: Value Beyond Enrollment

In 2020, the European Joint Programme for Rare Diseases developed a guide on patient partnerships in rare disease research projects. This guide still rings true today, and we summarize in this blog the key points for sponsors of rare disease studies to consider when engaging patients and their representatives in study planning. If you’re developing...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Charting the Path: How Patient and Caregiver Journeys Guide Rare Disease Study Design

It comes as no surprise that putting patients first is imperative for achieving success in rare disease development programs. However, to what extent can sponsors integrate patient input into their study design while still securing the high-quality data they need?  Although a bit of a balancing act, it is possible to design a study that...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Premier Research and CENTOGENE Launch Strategic Partnership to Accelerate and De-Risk Rare Disease Clinical Development

Leveraging Rare Disease Insights Powered by the CENTOGENE Biodatabank and Centralized Multiomic Laboratories in Clinical Trials MORRISVILLE, N.C., and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., ROSTOCK, Germany, and BERLIN, January 9, 2023 — Premier Research, whose mission is to help the most innovative biotech and medtech companies take their best ideas from concept to commercialization, and Centogene N.V. [Nasdaq:...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Pharmaceutical Outsourcing | Registries and Natural History Studies in Rare Disease Drug Development

Increasing emphasis on rare diseases has led to a greater need to accurately define the profile, characteristics, and outcomes of patients living with those conditions. The development of safe and effective treatments of rare diseases requires a deep understanding of the disease of interest, including its frequency, clinical features, risk factors, outcomes, burden, and evolution....

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

7 Tips for Designing and Operationalizing Rare Disease Natural History Studies

Natural history studies play a crucial role in rare disease drug development, providing insights that advance discovery and shape clinical trial design. The benefits of these studies also extend to understanding patient journeys, clarifying the standard of care, identifying disease-specific centers of excellence, and surfacing opportunities to improve patient care. In this blog post, we...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

How to Use Patient Registries and Natural History Studies in Rare Disease Development

Successful drug development requires a deep understanding of the disease of interest—its etiology, epidemiology, presentation, manifestations, and progression. In rare diseases, however, much of this information may be unknown. Patient populations are small and historical data are collected inconsistently and dispersed across treating physicians practicing in diverse geographies. Patient registries and natural history studies are...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Natural History Studies: Understanding and Enhancing Their Value in Rare Diseases

Successful drug development requires a comprehensive understanding of the underlying disease. To design reliable clinical trials with meaningful, measurable outcome measures, sponsors must apply thorough knowledge of disease presentation, manifestations, and progression, which may be challenging in rare diseases where this information is minimal. Thus, observational studies, encompassing both registry and natural history studies, play...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Rare Disease Recruitment: 5 Strategies for Differentiating Trials in a Competitive Research Environment

Recruitment for rare disease research has always been difficult due to myriad factors inherent to the low incidence and prevalence of these conditions. In recent years, however, recruiting for rare disease trials has become even more challenging due to increasing competition in the clinical research environment. In addition, as technologies advance and information becomes more...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

International Clinical Trials: How Contingency Plans Became the New Normal

Over the last decade, there has been increasing interest in mobile health (mHealth) and wearables. The general population has been tracking their steps, checking their heart rates, and monitoring their sleep patterns. Meanwhile, the clinical trial industry has been exploring decentralized trials and remote monitoring options as a way of alleviating the travel burden that...

Medical and Regulatory Affairs

Clinical Data Trends: Transforming Data Access/Analysis

The clinical trial industry has been steadily undergoing a data evolution. Data from remote capture devices, such as wearables and other novel sources (e.g., increasingly large health data repositories and electronic healthcare data), have gained importance. Proper management and utilization of such data allows sponsors to untether from a set roster of trial sites, focus...