COVID-19 has changed everything for clinical trials – but in most cases these are changes that were well overdue.
“For years and years, the industry has debated the practicalities and safety of decentralising clinical trials, using telemedicine, and where study activities should take place,” says Karen McIntyre, executive director, global lead Catalyst Program & site relationships at Syneos Health. “We were always having these discussions, but nothing moved forward.”
When the pandemic hit, regulators around the world rapidly updated their guidelines to reflect the realities of conducting trials amidst lockdowns and social distancing mandates.
“For example, drugs are now able to be delivered directly to patients to allow for a clinical trial visit to take place remotely,” says McIntyre.
“These changes didn’t necessarily need to involve advanced technology – we just had to adapt the way we worked.”
She says that sites quickly rose to the occasion.
This content has been repurposed from PharmaPhorum
