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CONVENTIONAL TRIALS V. VIRTUAL TRIALS

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Anushree Reddy

Every clinical trial chooses the best clinical research courses of action to collect as much data as possible. Before any of these medications reach the patients, it has to undergo our clinical trial phases. The first phase is also known as the recruitment phase. This is a very crucial stage of the process. It involves the selection of participants for the testing of the new treatment or drug. These participants have to meet certain criteria based on the drug or disease being treated. It involves the enrolment of 20-100 volunteers whose condition has been studied well and monitored over a specified amount of time.

Conventional trials are considerably more prone to these pain points. Recruitment methods are largely done in person at hospitals or via newspapers, whereas virtual trials recruit online via social media. Conventional trials are also locally bound and require many study sites and patient visits. They can be time-consuming, expensive, and they have a high drop-out rate as a result.Meanwhile, virtual trials have no limits on their available patient population, as they can recruit globally. Using technologies such as electronic questionnaires, electronic consent, videoconferencing & telehealth, microsampling & home-kits for lab testing, mobile devices & wearables to collect remote patient data, and drug delivery, virtual trials are more time-efficient and cost effective, resulting in high patient retention and maximized enrollment. Zeroing in on traditional clinical trials and breaking them out by stage reveals specific pain points and areas in which risks can be mitigated.

INVESTING IN VIRTUAL CLINICAL TRIALS

Leading companies in the industry have conducted various virtual clinical trials and partnered with startups, highlighting the increasing interest and ongoing efforts to reshape the way clinical trials are conducted. In 2011, Pfizer pioneered the first virtual clinical trials. By 2018, Novartis collaborated with Science 37 to launch 10 new virtual clinical trials through 2021. Virtual Clinical Trials continue to experience rapid investment growth. Several companies are actively leveraging modern technological breakthroughs to transform the pharmaceutical research landscape, offering a variety of innovative solutions to optimize costs and time spent on clinical trialsIn 2019, over $1B has been invested to finance the initiatives of different companies that are realizing the benefits of applying modern technological solutions to clinical research. While investment in virtual clinical trials has grown exponentially over the past decade, it is still relatively nascent and overall fragmented.

TRACING THE FUTURE OF VIRTUAL CLINICAL TRIALS

With the rise of emerging tech that makes research faster, cheaper, and more accessible and with a forward-looking FDA digital health team, providers are beginning to implement new software tools. AI and Big Data will drive this trend, and most clinical research professionals expect to adopt clinical trial software over the next 5 years.COVID-19 has highlighted the necessity of virtual clinical trials, but it merely accelerates a trend that was already in progress. With increasingly convenient and remote methods of conducting research, the entire process will become more streamlined and effective, and Volition’s experience with other healthcare and life sciences startups such as Medly Pharmacy or TraceLink, give us a unique perspective on the competitive landscape of this industry.

 

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Anushree Reddy
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