New data from Greenphire shows that new patient enrollment in trials that it provides globally has rebounded - up 85 percent since the trough in April surpassed pre-COVID-19 participant enrollment trends.
FREMONT, CA: Greenphire, the global leader in financial lifecycle management for clinical trials, revealed that patient enrollment for global clinical trials has returned to pre-COVID levels.
While there was a decrease in new participant enrollment in the second quarter, new data from Greenphire shows that new patient enrollment in trials that it provides globally has rebounded-up 85 percent since the trough in April surpassed pre-COVID-19 participant enrollment trends. This trend reaches across geographic regions, with Europe witnessing an increase in new patient enrollment (up 6 percent since January 2020) and North America not far behind (up 5 percent since January 2020).
This data comes from a survey conducted by Greenphire during the summer, in which 71 percent of the 150+ sponsors and CROs who participated said the pandemic forced them to pause current study enrollments, and 58 percent had delayed existing study starts.
"The industry was hit hard by COVID-19 and at one point, nearly all research came to a stop. It's impressive to see the rebound in patient enrollment and the industry's ability to respond so quickly, in part by leveraging new technologies which promote flexibility of how visits are conducted. We anticipate this trend will continue as 84 percent of our survey respondents said they are actively seeking to increase their use of tools to better support decentralized trials," said Jim Murphy, Chief Executive Officer at Greenphire.
Whether feeling the financial pinch of the coronavirus pandemic or concern of navigating safely outside, participants in clinical trials today face increased costs and transport logistics, childcare, eldercare, and more. As a result, sites have changed their approach, providing local lab support and remote visits. While successful, these sudden changes present challenges for sites that have reported increased workload and expenditure on items such as PPE and remote monitoring tools.
Sponsors and CROs are keen to implement solutions that would keep clinical trials operational and not at the cost of patients and sites. Greenphire's survey data emphasizes that sponsors and CROs are committed to fostering strong relationships with sites in 2020 and beyond by:
• Offering hybrid clinical trial solutions
• Providing patient convenience solutions
• Streamlining budget negotiations
• Increasing site payment frequency
"The concept of using technology to help create value in a decentralized or hybrid trial environment isn't new per se, but COVID-19 has certainly encouraged wider adoption by forcing everyone to find ways to bring greater connectivity between clinics and patients," said Kyle Cunningham, Chief Product Officer at Greenphire.
