Contract research organisation (CRO) Worldwide Clinical Trials announced the participation of two new fellows in the ‘Michael F. Murphy’ Clinical Research Methodology Fellowship Program.
Initially launched in 2017, the program is named after the company’s chief medical and scientific officer, Michael Murphy, and aims to prepare scientists and physician researchers to support the ‘increasingly complex’ clinical trials of tomorrow, according to the company.
“The current R&D space demands informed, differentiated services under an umbrella that complements the contributions of employees, patients, families, and investigative sites,” Murphy said in a statement, adding that the fellowship aims to teach participants how to bridge these aspects.
During the two-year program, fellows contribute to the company’s work on the development of strategic programs for interventional research as well as the development of protocol concepts and study methodology for therapeutic areas including oncology, central nervous system, cardiovascular, and rare diseases.
Introducing scientific expertise into the industry
The fellowship also aims to build on the participants’ ability to “adjudicate the frequently conflicting interest” of researchers, an important requirement for study design, Murphy told us.
More specifically, this process entails incorporation of new information regarding advanced technologies and highly nuanced patient populations into options for an informed clinical program.
According to the company’s CMO/CSO, recommendations to clients must be “appropriate to the nature of the intervention, the strategic vision of a pharmaceutical company and its stage of development as well as financial constraints, and the services that might be potentially offered.”
The program trains the fellows on this approach enabling them to “acquire very practical experience addressing milestones and timelines relevant to creation of a unique protocol” which would subsequently be ‘extensively vetted.’
At the end of the program, according to Murphy, the company facilitates the transition of fellows into the pharmaceutical industry, including the Worldwide organization, ensuring that the transition is consistent with business needs and the fellows’ personal qualifications.
