With Covid-19 pandemic still raging across the world, the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry have started exploring new strategies to address clinical trial disruptions.
GlobalData has conducted a survey to identify how different organisations associated with the industry are addressing clinical trial disruptions due to the outbreak.
Addressing Clinical Trial Disruptions Related to the Covid-19 Outbreak by Company Role
An analysis of the survey results reveals that remote patient monitoring (RPM) and decentralised trials (DCTs) dominate as key choices to mitigate the clinical trials disruptions due to coronavirus outbreak.
Around 19% of the contract research organisations (CROs) are planning to switch to RPM. It is 17% for other contract service providers, 16% for clinical/ investigator sites, 16% for government/ academic institutes and 15% for Pharma/ Biotech.
The percentage of respondents who are planning to move to decentralised/ virtual clinical trials in future stands at 19% for CROs, 19% for other contract service providers, 16% for government/ academic institutes, 12% for clinical/ investigator sites and 11% for Pharma/ Biotech.
CROs (16%) also lead in the adoption of remote site initiation visits for critical trials, followed by Pharma/ Biotech (14%), other contract service providers (12%), clinical/ investigator sites (11%) and government/ academic institutes (8%).
The survey also found that 19% of government/ academic institutes have mandated research staff to work remotely. It is 14% for Pharma/ Biotech, 13% for CROs and other contract service providers, and 9% for clinical/ investigator sites.
Other contract service providers (13%) tops in DTP drug delivery, followed by CROs (12%), clinical/ investigator sites (12%), Pharma/ Biotech (9%) and government/ academic institutes (8%).
Around 14% of clinical/ investigator sites have halted screening or enrolment for all clinical trials. It is 13% for Pharma/ Biotech, 11% for government/ academic institutes, 7% for other contract service providers and 6% for CROs.
Clinical/ investigator sites also lead in ceasing opening of any new clinical trials and prioritising enrolment for certain clinical trials, ahead of other groups.
Approximately 8% of respondents from Pharma/ Biotech and government/ academic institute groups have implemented remote safety lab collections. It is followed by clinical/ investigator sites (7%), CROs (6%) and other contract service providers (6%)
The analysis is based on responses received for the Coronavirus Survey – COVID-19 and Decentralised Clinical Trials conducted by GlobalData between 04 June and 22 June 2020.
