EY has published an interesting article discussing the opinions of the participants of the EY Virtual Clinical Trials roundtable, looking at the impact that COVID-19 has had on the clinical trials sector.
The key to many of these trials is the availability of both staff to carry out the work, and patients to take part in the trials.
When asked “What is your biggest concern in ‘restarting’ clinical trials to achieve their clinical endpoints?”, number 1 was patient availability, with a concern over the reluctance of patients to return to the clinics. Number 2 was clinics’ concern that they will not be able to properly staff the clinics to cope with the backlog of delayed trials.
The key messages going forward were that patient-centricity will be critical to developing the clinical trials models of the future, and failure to adequately take this on board will erode the fragile patient trust.
Yet some of these suggestions, if taken to their logical conclusions, are going to fundamentally change the landscape for clinical trials. New ways of working, and new ways of engaging with patients will need to be found.
Bio Pharma Consulting 