Patient recruiters & regulators educating each other as trials globalise

Patient recruiters and national regulators must learn from each other to better understand outreach tactics and how they fit with a country’s ethics and laws.

Jeffrey Zucker, the new global head of patient recruitment at Kendle, told Outsourcing-Pharma clinical trial globalisation is driving an “educative process”. Through operating in a country biopharm and contract research organisations (CRO) are learning what recruitment tactics are accepted.

In turn, national regulators are learning about what different outreach tactics entail. Zucker said regulators can be concerned when encountering strategies for the first time. Biopharm and CROs must then educate regulators about the process to demonstrate why it is a legitimate approach.

Zucker also discussed the biggest challenge facing patient recruitment, how approaches differ at biopharm and CROs, and what Kendle is doing to retain patients once a trial is underway.