Author: MRN
When patient recruitment accounts for approximately 1/3 of a clinical trial budget,1 there is little to no room for error. Except that is exactly what keeps happening. Sponsors and CROs are using the same sites for their clinical trials, which means they are repeatedly returning to the same patient cohorts. This sees those patient cohort groups not only diminish more and more each time, but it also leads to a trend where there is limited to no true representation of a real-world patient population. It’s no wonder that approximately 80% of clinical trials suffer from timeline setbacks or early termination due to challenges in both recruiting and retaining patients.2
In order to reduce the overall cost of recruitment and minimize costs associated with delays, we need to step away from those methods that are no longer producing the results required in the timeframes they’re needed, and rather start to examine new, innovative methods and solutions. And sometimes the most effective solution is one that, when you step back and look at the problem with a fresh set of eyes, can be the most obvious.
To create a new path forward in clinical trial recruitment, enrollment and retention is to start using a site network. Specifically, one that is onboarding, supporting and developing new, trial naïve sites that are situated in untapped community locations and serving a new, diverse population group that would not normally have easy access to the over-saturated, traditional trials sites.
Using a site network can open doors that typically wouldn’t be available to patients, sites and Sponsors. By expanding access to a trial in a new community, we can recruit and enroll the patients required for the trial on time. This in turn reduces the risk of delays and subsequent extended recruitment periods as well as the need to open additional sites and increase spending on trial awareness campaigns in an attempt to try and reach the enrollment requirements.
MRN is expanding clinical trial access to communities in North America, South America, UK, Europe and quickly moving to APAC – creating a truly global network of sites, with consistent global site management and global delivery.
We are completely invested in the success of the sites within our network, with each site having access to our dedicated team who ensure sites are appropriately staffed and they have the training and resources needed for rapid activations that won’t overlap with recruitment timelines. If a site requires additional resources, our team is able to quickly identify the need and supply the support and/or resources that are required.
Through our global site network, Sponsors and sites have access to everything MRN can offer; Home Trial Support, providing less burdensome options to patients in how they can participate; Site Support, ensuring sites have the appropriate staffing and resources in place and the training required to get sites research ready; MRN regulatory-approved and validated eClinical software systems; and so much more.
Ultimately, by bringing new and/or trial-naïve sites into the clinical research space will provide patients with access to trials that they otherwise would not have been able to participate in and would have missed out on a potentially life-changing clinical trial that could have made all the difference to their health journey. Furthermore, Sponsors using the site network have access to a diverse patient pool that are able to participate and remain engaged in their clinical trials, which can accelerate overall trial timelines and bring much needed therapies to market, faster.
Learn more about how MRN’s site network can accelerate trial timelines and improve patient experience here: https://themrn.io/solutions/site-network/
References:
1. Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, Intelligent clinical trials: transforming through AI-enabled engagement, March 2019, https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/life-sciences/artificial-intelligence-in-clinical-trials.html, Last Accessed Sept 2024.
2. Market.US Media, Clinical Trials Statistics 2024 By Phases, Definition and Interventions, https://media.market.us/clinical-trials-statistics/, Last Accessed November 2024.