From researchers to sponsors to patients to advocacy groups to clinicians, rare disease research is full of passionate, driven, and determined people. As the greatest asset to the field, all people involved must be utilized to their greatest potential for a study to be successful. That’s why significant attention must be paid to the operational challenges within...
Rare disease and orphan drug research has a long history of serious challenges, thanks to both intrinsic factors—fewer patients means less available data; less available data means a less complete picture—and market forces—it’s more difficult to find investors when a smaller pool of patients may mean a more uncertain potential return on investment. Luckily, recent changes...
DURHAM, N.C., JULY 24, 2017 — Premier Research has named Kimberly Glen an Executive Director for Rare Disease, Strategic Development Department. She brings to the company nearly three decades of experience in contract research, drug development, and pharmaceutical consulting. “Rare disease is an extremely demanding field of study, imposing unique challenges in patient recruitment, deriving...
Both understanding the role of patient advocacy groups in building better clinical trials and improving the research process mean first taking a look at the history of orphan drug development in the United States and Europe. An “orphan drug” is a drug that treats a condition that fewer than 200,000 people have. Because rare diseases...
Despite advances in the orphan drug development process and the more prominent role that patient advocacy groups now play, researchers in this area still face a number of challenges. But, fortunately, increased collaboration between patient groups, industry leaders, and regulatory bodies can help overcome these hurdles. Barriers to orphan drug research include: Small population By definition,...