Research collaborative set to advance participation in clinical trials

A new industry forum, taking place in April next year, will offer a platform for industry leaders in pharma, biotech, clinical research organisations and healthcare organisations, advocacy groups and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss ways in which participation in clinical trials by patients and physicians can be advanced.

“Poor recruitment is the leading cause of failure in clinical trials. Less than 3% of patients and physicians participate,” said Cinda Orr, president and CEO of SCORR Marketing. “For quite some time, I have watched our industry try to determine how we can change this, but we have not made significant progress. As I am passionate about helping patients, I have established the Bridging Clinical Research and Clinical Health Care Collaborative with the support from health science colleagues and organisations so we can actualise a solution.”

Dr Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Cancer survivor and patient advocate T.J. Sharpe will represent patients. Other speakers have been scheduled from various companies and organisations, such as 2bPrecise, Allscripts, HCA Healthcare, IBM Watson Health, INC Research and Sarah Cannon.

“This conference is at the core of what we do and we are proud to be a sponsor,” added John Potthoff, CEO of Elligo Health Research. “Just think what a significant impact we could make if we could get just an additional 3% of patients and physicians to participate. That would double the opportunity for patients to participate in clinical trials in the US.”