Clinical trials are important to business and society and play a significant role in the industry. From medical benefits to product development, trials allow for the development of new products and therapies. When companies leverage these trials to drive income, they are able to achieve their business goals while improving the quality of life for patients around the world.
If you’re planning a clinical trial to gather data on a new drug, service, or technology, several clinical trial factors can help to drive income and achieve business goals.
Collaborate With Other Academic Institutions
Many universities and research facilities have the capacity and resources to conduct clinical studies. You can collaborate with these institutions and combine your company’s resources to conduct a study with more patients. This will be beneficial for you and help you gather significant data quickly without any additional cost.
For example, a pediatric patient population can find it difficult to enroll in a clinical trial. By joining forces with a research facility that already has patients enrolled, you will increase your chances of enrolling a larger pool of study participants who fit the inclusion/exclusion criteria for your trial.
Collaborate with Industry Partners
Collaborating with experts in the industry can be a great way to overcome barriers such as funding, patient recruitment and retention, regulatory guidance, and statistical analysis. A pharma company may have specific insight into clinical research challenges that you can use when hiring an outsourced clinical research organization (CRO). For example, some CROs are specifically equipped to deal with clinical trial management for large products where the endpoints are different.
You can also consider partnering with CROs that possess regional knowledge and the ability to recruit the right patient population for your study. This will allow you to focus on monitoring patient compliance, ensuring proper documentation of side effects, and safety concerns, while the CRO manages the actual recruiting.
Ensure Transparency When it Comes to Data
It is often said that in order to have someone do something, you need to show them how. When it comes to clinical trials, this certainly rings true—that’s why each study should offer the sponsor very specific timelines for data collection and reporting. Transparency is key when it comes to data collection and reporting. Making sure the study is carried out in accordance with the protocol means all patients should be treated equally without any bias. Any changes made during the course of your research have to be explained properly. Presenting patient data in a timely and understandable fashion is clearly important. When you collect data, make sure it is legible and clear.
Transparency about patient data collection and reporting will come in handy when the results of your clinical trial are compiled. The numbers must show that you followed through with your research as expected. It will also answer questions during study conduct or after the study is finished. If your trial is on the internet, then that information should be available for everyone to see.
Outsourcing Clinical Research
If it is unethical or impractical to conduct a clinical trial within your organization, consider outsourcing it to a third party. Outsourcing can be a great way to gain access to more patients and trials. It can also help bring down the cost of doing business by leveraging lower operational costs and economies of scale. There are many clinical research companies that specialize in managing all phases of clinical studies, from designing and implementing them, to analyzing the data generated at the end. You can expect better results when you outsource clinical research to a country that has expertise within the field.
Be Flexible with Your Study Design
While standard protocols are used for many of the studies conducted today, there is a growing trend towards more flexibility. You will need to build in some flexibility into your protocol design and be open to modifying it during the course of a study. Flexibility will help you find answers more quickly and avoid unnecessary expenses.
For example, if you are conducting an end-point-driven trial that requires subjects to remain in the study for 6 months, but at month 3 you realize that you’re not getting any useful data, it may be time to cut your losses and close down the study.
Participate in Clinical Trial Networks
Clinical trial networks are the best way to increase your reach when recruiting clinical trial participants. By participating in one of these networks, you can access a wide range of communities within specific disease states or demographics. This information can be used to identify the optimal patient population for your study.
Network members are required to meet specific criteria before being accepted, so choosing a network that closely matches your desired patient population is critical. When you join a clinical trial network, you will have access to prescreening tools and guidelines to help you determine whether a patient is eligible to participate in your study.
There are several benefits to joining a clinical trial network, including:
- Greater efficiency in screening patients for eligibility
- Access to patients living within specific demographics or with specific diseases
- Ability to implement an easy prescreening process
- Reduced costs associated with time spent conducting phone screenings
- Access to patient referrals from network members
Final Notes
Increasing your clinical trial’s revenue and reach will require time, patience, and a commitment to the realization that both patient enrollment and retention are central to its success.
It will also require having a good understanding of the key factors impacting recruitment, as well as a strategic approach to building a network of organizations that can work together to help enhance your clinical trial’s performance.
