A world-renown clinical research organization (CRO) like Veristat has been at the forefront of drug development for a long time. Because of this, the pharmaceutical industry has made a lot of progress in making treatments and therapies for different diseases. But because the process of making drugs has been traditional and full of problems, clinical trials have never been able to get good results on time.  Fortunately, recent technological advancements have paved the way for new approaches to trials, such as decentralized clinical trials (DCTs). In this post, we will address some of the reasons why you should adopt DCTs, starting with:

Better patient engagement

Patient engagement is crucial for the success of the clinical trial. Engagement and participation mean a patient will comply with the study protocol, provide accurate data, and stay in the trial until completion. Traditionally, this has been hard to achieve. DCTs or virtual clinical trials can increase patient engagement and retention by utilizing virtual communication tools such as video calls where patients can interact with the research team from home. Other technologies like wearable devices enable a patient to collect, record, and share data with the research team. With these tools and devices, researchers can also keep an eye on patients in real-time, which makes it easier to spot possible dangers. By participating from home, patients don’t have to spend money on travel or make any changes to their daily lives. This makes it easier for them to remain in the trial since it’s convenient.

Increased geographical diversity

Virtual clinical trials enable increased patient diversity. Traditionally, clinical trials have not been able to recruit and retain patients from remote areas, greatly hindering patient diversity. Such limitations impair the generalizations of study results, further lowering the level of success of the trial. DCTs make it easier to recruit and retain patients from different locations. This is because the patients can easily participate in the trial from home.  Furthermore, technologies such as telemedicine mean researchers can check in with patients without them having to travel to the central study location. DCTs can give a more complete picture of how treatments may affect different patient populations by including people from different parts of the world.

Efficient regulatory processes

Virtual trials make regulatory processes more efficient by providing real-time access to data. Regulation is vital in clinical trials, as it ensures that new treatments are safe and effective for patients before they are released into the market. However, the process is tedious, time-consuming, and costly, which hinders its efficiency and effectiveness. With virtual trials, regulatory agencies can monitor the trial’s progress and outcomes in real-time, which fosters faster decision-making. In addition, since DCTs allow for remote monitoring, it reduces the need for on-site monitoring, which in turn helps reduce administrative burdens and streamline the regulatory process.

Opportunities for innovation

Finally, virtual clinical trials allow innovation in clinical trial design. Virtual trials can use more sensitive and specific ways to measure results, like digital biomarkers, when they use virtual tools and remote monitoring devices. With more innovation, virtual trials can also use new trial designs, like adaptive designs, to make them more efficient and speed up the process of making new drugs. By embracing DCTs, CROs can contribute to developing new, more effective treatments for patients.

There are many reasons to use decentralized clinical trials, such as better patient involvement, a wider range of locations, more efficient regulatory processes, and more chances to come up with new ideas. All this and other benefits mean trials can overcome their traditional challenges, help accelerate the drug development process, and improve patient outcomes.

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