Like most things in healthcare, clinical trials have been slow to evolve in recent decades. But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced clinical trial research teams to become more efficient, patient-centered and inclusive.
Much is at stake as the pandemic has already caused significant clinical trial disruption. EY estimates that the COVID-19 impact on Phase 3 studies for the top pharma and biopharma companies could cost the industry $35 billion by 2024.
The potential disruption to clinical trials for drug development, fillings and launching could last for years, if not decades, according to the white paper “The Growing Value of RWE” from IQVIA, which serves as a contract research organization and offers consulting services to the pharmaceutical industry.
“Almost all of our studies were impacted,” said Barbara Arone, VP of global medical affairs category lead at IQVIA. The majority of clinical trials Arone witnessed “had to change something about how they were operationalizing, and that goes from the interventional-type post-approval studies all the way through to observational studies.”
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