June 2024 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 30-31

// CLINICAL TRIALS //


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Increasing public willingness to share their data marks an opportunity to reimagine clinical research

How the public views clinical research is increasingly important for biopharma organisations, as removing barriers to trial progress can deliver huge value across the healthcare ecosystem through faster access to treatments.

Trial recruitment and retention challenges have their roots in the perception that clinical research is difficult, lengthy and invasive. But there is cause for optimism.

We recently spoke to 2,000 members of the US public to understand their feelings towards more innovative ways to participate in clinical research.

The results reveal a surprising reality, which should prompt leaders to transform their approach to clinical research.

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Despite traditional concerns around cost, safety and convenience, views towards clinical research were largely positive.

More than three-quarters (77%) of respondents say trials are essential for bringing life-saving therapies to market, and 64% are willing to share their clinical data with researchers to aid the development of treatments or cures.

Crucially, 65% are happy for this data to be shared across studies, especially if it could drive down the cost of treatment.

Positivity and willingness present an opportunity for biopharma to reimagine clinical research and enhance stakeholder experiences by leveraging trial participant data with evidence from across the health system.

However, low levels of trust continue to cause concern, with only 26 percent of respondents trusting biopharma organisations to run clinical trials.

And trust varied by demographic, flagging a need to focus on lower income groups.  One promising development was the increase in trust from Black/African American respondents, representing a significant departure from previous perceptions and attitudes.

Trust

The research findings point to a need to engage the public more effectively to build public trust and reach new communities.

There is an opportunity for leaders in life sciences organisations, academia, and healthcare settings to reframe the approach to public engagement.

One route is via the creation of patient-facing clinical trial brands and deployment of modern marketing tactics that demonstrate value to potential participants.

Patient-centric brands associated with delivering caring clinical trials can create a sense of familiarity, credibility and transparency by emphasising patient empowerment, education and support throughout the clinical trial journey.

Social media engagement, targeted advertising, influencer partnerships and multimedia storytelling can all help to reach and engage diverse audiences. Lilly is one example of an organisation using social media to engage a new audience.

It will be crucial to explore outreach programmes (including local community outreach) that build trust with participants, as well as partnering with recognised academic or medical institutions that have elevated levels of public trust.


‘Positivity presents an
opportunity for biopharma to reimagine clinical research and enhance stakeholder experiences’


Through compelling narratives, testimonials and educational content, biopharmaceutical companies can address common concerns, dispel misconceptions and highlight the potential benefits of participation in clinical research.

By prioritising transparency, accessibility and patient-centred communication, these companies can foster trust, increase awareness and enhance study recruitment.

Transformation

It’s clear that the public are much more willing to engage in data sharing than was previously thought, providing the opportunity for data-first trial transformations.

There are many deeply held beliefs that are hard to relinquish; however, the opportunity to accelerate and enhance clinical research by embracing emerging technology is tremendous.

Exploration of existing historical data sets as an early enabler of cross-trial insights, linking previously given consent to sample reuse, relationships with data registries, or third-party partnering, will be hugely beneficial.

This must be done alongside a concerted effort to rework internal digital platforms, using modern tools and workflows to capture, integrate and analyse data across the entire clinical trial life cycle whilst enabling cross-trial analysis.

Participants also advocated for investments in AI to bolster diagnostic and therapeutic research, an area attracting significant investment. The efficacy of AI is inherently tied to the calibre of the data it processes, suggesting that expanded access to high quality research data could be a game-changer for the industry.

New technology development methodologies enable dramatically accelerated release timelines with sophisticated, secure, and compliant solutions being built at a fraction of the costs of just a few years ago.

Leading trials organisations are taking advantage of this capability to create new workflows that augment and, in some cases, replace legacy workflows – enabling significantly increased capacity.

For example, a global clinical research organisation is creating AI tools and a data platform to streamline clinical trials, resulting in enhanced trial efficiency, and accelerated trial cycle-times by improving the quality of data and the pace at which risks are identified and mitigated.

Triumph

A significant 81 percent of respondents were interested in seeing more investment in proactive and preventative care, with nearly half of respondents (47%) seeing further investment in emerging technology as a fundamental part of the solution to deliver this innovation.

A digitally focused approach to clinical development is a powerful tool to drive the delivery of more human-centric clinical research, whilst increasing the speed of clinical research.

There are opportunities throughout the clinical delivery pathway, but one size won’t fit all. Although 41 percent of respondents were open to outreach about clinical trials via social media, this was highly differentiated.

Respondents with a chronic condition had a much higher preference for outreach via a doctor, whilst those of Asian ethnicity preferred YouTube over their local doctor. This poses opportunities for targeted participant segmentation to increase trial accessibility.

There’s a role for technology to reduce pressure on internal teams by utilising appropriately governed algorithms to help automate management of risks critical to quality, accelerate study conduct and enable teams across the portfolio to focus on aspects that require a more human touch.

Takeaways

Opinions about data sharing continue to evolve, but it’s clear that increasing levels of accessibility and ease of use in other areas of life have started to significantly shift deeply entrenched opinions regarding healthcare data.

There is now an opportunity to transform the way data is approached within clinical research by:

  • Transitioning how the public hears about clinical research, meeting people in the medium that they are most comfortable with
  • Collaborative co-design of solutions and clinical protocols, using integrated technology platforms to reduce burden across the system
  • Focusing on the end user and ensuring that data is translated into timely, meaningful insights
  • Ensuring that strict controls on data protection, patient rights and good clinical practice are maintained.

Biopharma companies have a clear opportunity to build on positive sentiment.

Through a patient-centric, data-first and collaborative approach, biopharma companies can leverage technology for more human-centred, impactful and accessible trials.


Kieran Reals is a clinical transformation expert and Hilary Thomas is a clinical development expert at PA Consulting. Go to paconsulting.com