Challenges in patient recruitment for clinical studies

Industry Standard Research (ISR) today announced the launch of a new and substantial research report titled Success in Patient and Investigator Recruitment. This report presents data and analysis from 362 interviews with Patients, Principal Investigators, and Drug development professionals from around the world.

“Nearly everyone in the industry acknowledges the challenges our industry faces related to recruiting participants into clinical studies. One revelation from the research is that many patients hold a high degree of interest in participating in clinical trials but are simply unaware of opportunities to do so,” explained Kevin Olson, President, Industry Standard Research. Olson went on to state: “The issues associated with recruiting participants and investigators are so complex that we determined a 360 degree evaluation of the topic was the best way to fully understand the dynamics. We found that on many issues, patients, investigators, sponsor companies, and CROs are not in sync with each other. There are some very clear opportunities to enhance our industry’s patient recruiting effectiveness.”

Also detailed in the report are investigator, sponsor, and CRO ideas for addressing the significant shortcomings in the practice of feasibility assessment; the effectiveness of various patient advertising and marketing channels; the impact of an on-site study coordinator; site preferences for working with sponsor companies vs. CROs; and much more.

Kevin Olson, President ISR, further explains:

“The challenges of recruitment are so significant to the industry that re-tooling our practices represents more than just a competitive advantage for companies that do so. It’s simply necessary for the industry to continue to grow. We believe the Success in Patient and Investigator Recruitment report gives drug development professionals the information they need to create change in their organizations.”