Improving the quantity and patient-centric quality of clinical trials in Europe

With increasing attention and commitment to ensuring greater inclusion and diversity in clinical trials, our own Moira Gitsham , Director and patient engagement lead, shares her thoughts on a new report on the matter.

The report, conducted by IQVIA, on the state of Europe’s clinical trial ecosystem was published in October, with sobering findings. Despite global clinical trials increasing by 38% over the past decade, Europe’s share of the pie has halved, as pharma companies have shifted their focus to China and the US. This means European patients are?potentially?missing out on the opportunity to access the latest medicines, and the trend looks set to continue if no action is taken.?

IQVIA lays the blame with Europe’s less favourable regulatory and funding environment. A beacon of hope is Spain, which is bucking the trend thanks to investment in research facilities, a new model of public/private partnership and complying with the EU Clinical Trials Regulation. Not only are more patients accessing the latest?drugs, but hospitals are attracting funding from pharma, meaning savings for the health system.?

How can we reverse the trend in Europe? EFPIA and Vaccines Europe, who commissioned the report, are calling for Europe to follow Spain’s lead, to develop harmonised and simplified processes and a better clinical trial infrastructure. Europe has a large and diverse patient population. We need to promote this and make sure we are engaging with patient communities to develop patient-centric trial designs with relevant patient reported outcomes.

We need to ensure that trials are both efficient and attractive to a diverse range of patients. Fixing the clinical trial ecosystem is vital, however daunting. Improving patient recruitment, overall experience, retention and pre- and post- trial communication is something much more within our control, and something we are proud to support at Havas SO.

?You can read the full report her: https://www.efpia.eu/media/0ipkatpg/efpia-ct-report-embargoed-221024-final.pdf.