• Health Tech

Unlocking the Possibilities of Clinical Trials in the Digital Age

January 18, 2023

In a recent interview, PharmExec asked Jennifer Goldsack, CEO of the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), and Shoibal Datta, Director of Digital Health Sciences at Takeda’s Data Science Institute, to discuss digital strategies in clinical trials.

The two discussed the implementation of digitized clinical trials in today’s era and the strategic decisions needed to realize the full digital promise in developing effective new therapies for patients.

Two interview questions in particular caught our attention and we would like to discuss them with you.

PharmaExec asked, “The use of digital tools in clinical trials has been steadily increasing. Are we getting close to achieving digital as the status quo in clinical trials?”

Shoibal Datta answered, “No, we are not. Although a tremendous amount of progress has been made in the last three years, we are still in the very early stages of adapting to and learning how to navigate this new digital world at scale.”  Datta goes on to say that there must be a collaboration between device manufacturers and the decentralized trial platform providers and that Biopharma needs to incorporate digital through the entire drug development cycle. 

Jennifer Goldsack agreed with Datta that digital in clinical trials is “not very close”.  They have seen that the number of sponsors using digital endpoints increased in the last 3 years, but that the use of digital is not being fully utilized.  Goldsack goes on to say that those who are using digital are “reaping the benefits of faster and more inclusive recruitment and better data powering better decisions, sooner”.

Although we have come a long way in the digital clinical trial journey, there is still a long way to go.

Some companies are afraid of going digital or determine that it is too expensive. They refuse to implement these new strategies, and as Datta mentions, “everyone must collaborate and learn from each other to build this future” which makes it hard if they are not both on board with the same digital plan.

Another interesting point occurred later in the interview when PharmExec asked, “What are the business and patient imperatives to not fall behind in the race to digitize clinical trials?”

Datta answered that, “The needs and expectations of patients and clinical research participants are changing.” Referring to meeting patients where they are on their preferred communication platform. He also stated that clinical trial research companies that implement more diverse ways to conduct research will be better positioned to handle increasing disruptive change when bringing life-changing therapies to patients.

Goldsack explained on this by saying, “The digitization of clinical trials is certainly not going to solve all of the issues facing the clinical trials enterprise, but digital approaches offer real pathways to a transformed approach to drug development. And it’s becoming clear that digital strategies are necessary for any pharmaceutical company looking to increase their rates of technical success, speed the development of new drugs to market, and take a more inclusive approach to ensure our industry delivers value to all of the patients our industry exists to serve”. She also sees that organizations who prioritize digital strategies will outpace their competitors.

Our opinion: We live in a fast-paced world of constant change and evolution; the needs and expectations of patients change and increase with the pace of technology, so pharma and other companies dedicated to clinical trial research should recognize that patient and research participants need digital approaches to communications and study research.

Opening the door to technology allows us to offer more options and better care and treatment options to each patient.

And it is increasingly clear that digital strategies are necessary for any company looking to increase its success rates and take a more inclusive approach to ensure our industry delivers value to all patients 

Organizations that prioritize digital strategies and implement them will distance themselves from the competition as they will be able met more people where they are and understand how their treatments will effect all patient groups in a more inclusive and diverse way.