As clinical trials evolve, many organizations are implementing eClinical technologies such as electronic data capture (EDC). In the past, such technologies were mostly adopted by larger organizations. Now, smaller biopharma and CRO companies are finding value in the tools.
That’s according to a new survey from Medrio and Industry Dive. Nearly all—98%—of decision makers at small-size biopharma organizations and CROs said at least half of their current studies use multiple trial technologies. Electronic data capture (EDC), risk-based quality management (RBQM), and eConsent were the most widely used.
“We’ve come to the realization in this industry that technology can be a benefit and can enhance what manual efforts have done to move processes along,” said Melissa Newara, VP of eClinical Solutions and Consulting at Medrio. “And we’re really starting to see those trends play out in the diverse uptake of these tools.”
Despite high uptake rates in clinical trial technologies—as well as high confidence in the tools’ adaptability—some leaders expressed doubt that solutions would support emerging trends. The highest concerns were around synthetic control arms and decentralized trials. Experts say this interesting juxtaposition says a lot about where the industry is now and where it’s headed.
Here are selected findings:
Top eClinical Tech Benefits: Data Quality & Efficiency
Data quality won out as the most important benefit of eClinical technologies. Almost three-quarters of decision makers selected it in their top four perceived advantages. Efficiency factors of reduced cycle time and labor costs followed at 34% and 32%, respectively. Those themes—data quality and efficiency—are also motivators when evaluating new technologies, the report showed.
Although both CROs and biopharma organizations cited the same top benefits, nuances appeared between the two responding groups. Namely, CROs expressed more concern about efficiency and reporting than biopharmas, at a delta of roughly 13 percentage points.
Top eClinical Tech Challenges: Training & Onboarding
When adopting eClinical tools, more than half said training and/or onboarding was a top challenge. Experts attribute that to both the operational realities of today’s market—such as layoffs, turnovers, and limited staff—as well as technology complexity.
“Certainly in our industry, there are some platforms that are remarkably complex and hard to learn,” said Rod McGlashing, Subject Matter Expert of Data Science at Medrio. “But we’re also operating in an environment where you might, as an organization, be looking at a high turnover rate year over year that requires staff to be retrained, driving this trend of onboarding being so challenging.”
Despite the barriers, respondents said they were generally happy with the implementation help received from tech vendors—with 9 in 10 expressing satisfaction with vendor support.
Confidence in Tech Readiness Mixed With Certain Doubts
Most (92%) decision makers were at least somewhat confident that their existing technologies will keep pace as clinical trials evolve. Biopharma and CRO stakeholders expressed the most excitement for future data reliability improvements.
However, leaders were unsure about whether their current tools will keep up with trial complexity. Synthetic control arms and decentralized trials were the complexities identified as most concerning.
This implies biopharma and CRO leaders may be concerned about how to fit these complexities into their strategy, not necessarily whether the technology will support them, Melissa added.
“I think a lot of organizations are still working through what things like synthetic controls, digital twins, decentralized clinical trials, and other trial complexities mean for them and their research,” she said.
Download the Full Report for More
By and large, this survey points to high uptake and confidence in eClinical technologies for small-size biopharmas and CROs. At the same time, optimism is contrasted by doubts in certain areas. Technology vendors will need to be particularly responsive to these doubts as complex trial designs become more inherent to everyday trials.
For complete insights from the Medrio and BioPharma Dive survey, download the report at https://medrio.com/white-papers/2024-eclinical-technology-trends/.
Trusted by sponsors, CROs and sites worldwide, Medrio aims to improve 100 million lives through faster, more efficient, and secure clinical trials. With almost two decades of experience, Medrio delivers proven, scalable solutions, unrivaled customer support, and guidance to the industry’s leading innovators, including pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, diagnostics and more. The company’s suite of solutions, including CDMS/EDC, eCOA/ePRO, eConsent and RTSM, enables the capture of quality clinical trial data while optimizing workflows for regulatory readiness. Experience the power of Medrio and realize the full potential of your clinical operations and outcomes.