Honoring Clinical Trials Day – May 20, 2024
17 April 2024 by Charlotte Chaw, Marketing Manager
In this blog, to honor Clinical Trials Day, we explore the importance of clinical trials, historic successes, and some of the obstacles that continue to challenge the industry.
As Clinical Trials Day approaches on May 20, we’re reminded of the invaluable contributions made by clinical research to the advancement of healthcare worldwide. At Clariness, we are proud to be a part of this journey, connecting patients with groundbreaking clinical trials that offer hope, innovation and life-changing treatments.
How did Clinical Trials Day come about?
The origins of clinical trials date back to May 20th 1747, when James Lind, a surgeon aboard a ship, conducted what is widely considered to be the first controlled clinical trial. Shocked by the alarming mortality rate from scurvy among sailors, Lind devised a comparative trial to test potential cures. His groundbreaking study revealed that oranges and lemons significantly outperformed other remedies for the disease.
Fun fact about us: Clariness’ chosen brand color (orange), in some ways pays homage to this historic moment. Just as oranges brought hope to those suffering from scurvy, at Clariness we strive to bring hope through our commitment to connecting patients with cutting-edge clinical research.
Why are clinical trials important?
Clinical trials play a pivotal role in the development of new medications, therapies and medical devices, ultimately improving patient outcomes and quality of life. Each trial represents a promise of progress, a commitment to uncovering new possibilities in the realm of healthcare.
Where have clinical trials yielded significant success?
While the process of clinical trials is often long and challenging, there have been numerous instances where trials have yielded remarkable success stories, reshaping the landscape of healthcare.
Let’s delve into a few examples:
- HPV Vaccine: The HPV vaccine is a major milestone in preventive medicine. Clinical trials proved its efficacy in preventing high-risk HPV infections, leading to a significant drop in cervical cancer rates.
- Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS: Clinical trials paved the way for ART, turning HIV/AIDS from fatal to manageable. They validated ART’s ability to suppress viral replication, refining protocols for better efficacy and fewer side effects.
- Gene Therapy for Rare Diseases: Gene therapy, especially with CRISPR-Cas9, shows promise for rare genetic disorders. Clinical trials highlighted its potential to correct genetic defects, offering hope for conditions like sickle cell disease, muscular dystrophy and inherited retinal disorders.
Despite over 200 years of clinical trials being used to discover efficacy and safety of all modern medicine, trials are not always top of mind for patients when considering treatment options.
The market and investment of clinical trials is so vast, that a single drug on average costs $1B to get to market, and takes 10-15 years to be fully approved and available, yet with all this investment on a global scale, 90% of drugs fail clinical trial testing, with a large percentage of this being due to insufficient patient enrollment. Therefore, efforts to raise awareness about the importance of clinical trials and the potential benefits they offer to both individual health and medical progress is crucial, which is why observing Clinical Trials Day is so important.
Why does the industry still face significant challenges?
Despite significant advancements, the landscape of clinical trials remains fraught with challenges. With the ever-growing complexity of trial protocols, stringent eligibility criteria and lack of patient awareness, recruiting suitable patients can be extremely challenging. According to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), more than 80% of trials fail to meet trial recruitment goals.
As part of Clariness’ mission to increase patient accessibility for clinical trials, we recently collaborated with an international sponsor to a survey designed to shed light on both the drivers of and barriers to trial participation. Out of 3,858 true completers, we found that 72% of respondents, in general, would be willing to participate in a clinical trial, but only 24% of participants had done so.
This highlights a crucial insight: while there is considerable interest, the pivotal challenge lies in effectively engaging potential patients and ensuring that sponsors meet their recruitment goals, bringing medicines and treatments to patients faster.
Would you like to know more insights from our survey? Get in touch here
Why is patient recruitment so challenging, and what motivates patients to enroll in clinical trials?
Recruiting patients for clinical trials presents a complex challenge, making patient recruitment an uphill battle. One of the primary obstacles lies in the scarcity of accessible trial sites, forcing potential participants to grapple with extensive travel commitments and financial burdens just to attend visits. Additionally, fears surrounding the experimental nature of treatments, possible side effects and the obligation to document symptoms adds to the daily disease burden that patients already face.
However, patients may be highly motivated to enroll in clinical trials to access potential treatments that could improve their quality of life or extend their lifespan. They also see participation as an opportunity to contribute to scientific research and the advancement of knowledge about their condition, in fact many patients that we enroll at Clariness afterwards thank us for finding a suitable trial, and encourage others to be altruistic to help future generations with the same condition.
With over 18 years’ experience in recruiting patients, we have a deep understanding of the challenges of patient recruitment. Our tailored strategies focus on reaching and engaging potential patients through targeted outreach, prioritizing transparency and providing clear information about the trial process, benefits and risks. By understanding the unique needs and motivations of patients, we aim to advance treatments for patients globally.
Dive deeper into our experience through our collection of case studies.
Is your trial facing patient recruitment and retention issues?
Finding a reliable vendor with expertise can help streamline the process, enhance patient retention, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and ultimately contribute to the success of the study by facilitating timely completion. Choosing the right patient recruitment partner is crucial for achieving a successful clinical trial that reduces the time gap between development and deployment of new medicines.
Clariness can help your trial
We center our efforts on a singular goal: driving effective patient recruitment, the cornerstone of every successful clinical trial.
To tackle some of the challenges briefly highlighted in this blog, and to advance research that will be honored in future successes of clinical trials, we adopt patient-centric strategies that prioritize accessibility, communication and engagement.
By leveraging over 40 digital channels and social media to reach potential patients, providing clear and concise information about the trial and offering site support throughout the enrollment process via our in-house Enrollment Success Team, we aim to overcome the main barriers to enrollment.
To date, we’ve facilitated the randomization of 25,000 patients into clinical trials worldwide, and on average, we provide 25% of the participants for the studies we’ve supported.
If you have a particular trial you would like to discuss with us, reach out to one of our experts here.