Clinical trials need more modern systems to improve study times, survey shows

A need for better information exchange during clinical trials is needed in order for better visibility and collaboration, new research shows.

The research comes as part of the Veeva 2019 Unified Clinical Operations Survey, which examines the life sciences industry’s progress towards a unified clinical environment. One of the largest surveys of its kind, Veeva’s research gathers the experiences and opinions of 461 clinical operations professionals from around the globe.

All respondents surveyed in the report said there was a need to improve information exchange among study partners. Currently, three methods are utilised to share trial data and documents among sponsors, CROs and sites, with email being used as the main tool.   

Within the survey, the majority (71%) of respondents said there was a need to reduce manual processes to streamline information exchange, followed by improving collaboration (66%), and increasing visibility and oversight (64%) during trials.

Current challenges surrounding managing trials come from siloed processes and systems that prevent a holistic view of study progress and slow trial execution. Integration (68%) and reporting (57%) were the top two issues mentioned both as a direct result of clinical system silos.

Study start-up times

One of the biggest areas for potential to improve trial efficiency and speed is study start-up. All respondents report significant challenges with study start-up, likely due to the heavy reliance on manual processes since most (81%) use spreadsheets to manage this area.

However, new purpose-built study start-up applications are now being utilised with 23% of respondents stating they are using new applications.

Faster start-up times were cited by 71% as the primary driver to improve study start-up processes. Another area of importance is easier collaboration, with half of respondents citing this as an essential area for improvement.  

The study does recognise that the industry is modernising its processes and systems in major clinical areas such as eTMF (electronic transfer master file). However, legacy systems are causing challenges in other areas like clinical trial management systems (CTMS).

Nearly all respondents (95%) said they need to improve the use of CTMS in clinical operations. For most, better analytics and reporting (68%) and increased visibility (60%) are among the primary reasons.

Almost half of sponsors and CROs (48%) said easier collaboration is a top driver, underscoring the importance of streamlining communication and information sharing during execution.

Also, the number of respondents using purpose-built eTMF applications has tripled since 2014, highlighting the industry’s progress towards modernised systems.

“There is a significant industry wide opportunity to improve study visibility and partner collaboration to speed trial execution,” said Jim Reilly, vice president of Vault Clinical. “As more sponsors, CROs, and sites focus on streamlining clinical processes and systems, drug development will become more efficient and stakeholders will be better aligned throughout the trial lifecycle.”