Minimizing the burden that trial participants experience is essential for successful recruitment and retention, especially in oncology studies, where patients may need to be followed for years after the treatment phase of the trial. For sponsors, the process of optimizing study outcomes involves a deep understanding of the patient’s care journey and a deliberate effort...
February 24, 2022 | 10:00am EST Patient recruitment comprises one of the most significant initial challenges in any oncology study but engaging and retaining these patients throughout the trial can ultimately be the challenge requiring the most upfront planning and coordination. However, during the initial planning stages of clinical trial implementation, the focus is usually...
During the initial planning for clinical trial implementation, intense focus is placed on strategies for patient recruitment, while strategies for patient engagement and retention are often left until after the treatment phase. However, with many current protocol designs in oncology, trial endpoints require study participants to be followed for years to evaluate side effects and...
Introduction Over the past decade, immuno-oncology (IO) has become one of the most promising and fastest-growing areas of cancer research and drug development. Present-day advances in immuno-oncology can be attributed to an explosion of research in this area in recent years, leading to a paradigm shift in the understanding of cancer. Until the late 1990s...
Our focus on women’s health research means we’re sensitive to the concerns and needs of the female volunteers contemplating clinical trial participation. In order to effectively enroll women, it’s important to acknowledge these volunteers and consider their perspectives in every step of the clinical research process. Regularly engaging women, their physicians, and health advocates helps...
According to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (Tufts CSDD), nearly half of all clinical studies require substantial—and potentially avoidable—protocol amendments that lengthen timelines and increase costs. Tufts CSDD also notes that more than half of the substantial amendments are implemented during the study enrollment period, mainly due to difficulties in recruiting...
Clinical development is about finding new healthcare solutions that improve patient lives. This starts with identifying what matters most to people as they manage their health and wellbeing. Appropriate use of patient input can help improve development and regulatory decisions. Listening to patients living with a condition, we can proactively address potential flaws in clinical...
When sponsors develop drugs and devices specifically for women, they need to create trials that are uniquely female-focused. From protocols and endpoints, to recruiting strategies and messaging, these trials have to take into account the unique needs, expectations and regulatory requirements of a totally female population. Having spent more than 20 years in this space,...
The gene therapy era can be said to have begun in 1990, when the first gene therapy clinical trial took place. Some 3,000 clinical trials have followed that first study, a resounding affirmation of innovators’ increasing recognition of gene therapy’s breakthrough possibilities for treating a diverse range of disorders — especially afflictions with limited or...
Rare cancers account for 27% of all new cancer diagnoses in the US and 22% of all new cancer diagnoses in the EU. With the shift toward grouping cancer based on molecular subtypes rather than by location and tissue type, some common cancers are now categorized as groups of rare cancers. For example, melanoma as...