We have grown accustomed to being able to quickly search for and find practically any information we need in the digital age. We now utilize digital tools to manage our accounts, order food for delivery, and keep tabs on our health.
Although the clinical trials industry’s digital transformation has been slower, there are compelling reasons for the sector to change its perspective. It is due to the development and commercialization of novel medications.
Table of Contents
What Were The Problems With Conventional Clinical Testing?
Costs Of Developing A New Drug
The average projected cost to introduce a new medicine to the market is billions. Sometimes, clinical research costs discourage pharma from doing CTs, limiting patient access to cutting-edge therapies.
Not Getting Enough Patients
The majority of CTs struggle to find patients. There can be many reasons why patient enrollment may be low.
- Lack of knowledge
- Lack of awareness
- Strict eligibility requirements
- Unclear expectations
- Anxiety related to testing
The Transformation Of Clinical Testing: 6 Examples Of The 21st Century
1. Developments In The Treatment Of Pain
Tens of millions of individuals worldwide suffer from chronic pain, a severe and expensive public health issue. Sadly, some pain medications also have a high potential for addiction, which can have tragic results. Completely new targets for treating chronic pain have been discovered by combining genetics, neurology, and structural biology.
2. Cancer Treatments
This revolutionary new immunotherapy tactic uses the immune system of the cancer patient. It involves gathering immune cells and genetically altering them to create unique cancer-fighting soldiers known as chimeric antigen receptors.
Adults and children with incurable blood cancer have already been saved because of this study. It is now aimed at more difficult tumors like breast, prostate, colon, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer.
3. New Vaccines
Significant advancements in the fight against HIV, the flu, and other infectious diseases have been made. Scientists are supporting research into a universal flu vaccine to offer a durable defense against various flu viruses. How helpful would it be in this weather? This development saved millions of lives during the global pandemic and may be helpful if any new variants occur this year.
4. Remote Care
The pandemic allowed the use of remote care mainly in:
- Evaluation before appointments
- Monitoring at home
- Remote clinical encounter
- Remote expert supervision
5. Medical Wearables
Wearables can be useful in preventing chronic illnesses like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The use of tDCS devices with head straps makes it possible to map the electrodes to various brain regions. Such a device modifies the brain’s already activated neurons’ behavioral patterns rather than creating new ones.
6. A Patient Portal
A patient portal with centralized information is slowly being available to most clinics. These are made for the ease of doctors but also for patients. You can do the following on such portals:
- Contact your doctors
- Make appointments and ask for reschedules
- Check or apply for tests results
Future Challenges
Data security and logistics will become increasingly important concerns in the foreseeable future. With the increase of digitized records, privacy will be a major concern. When data is centralized and shareable to many organizations, some issues arise. Private information about patients should be hidden from suppliers, service, and logistical partners in conventional clinical trial sites. For instance, a repository sample could have patient data displayed as code.
Nowadays, hybrid and virtual trials require partners to ship directly to or pick up patients. Allowing access to a variety of personal data, such as the patient’s name and address and the type of study being conducted. Even the serial number of the equipment being utilized. Unsecured data can lead to cybersecurity issues, including exposing private patient information and regulatory violations. Such issues are being created alongside the development of technology.
The Future Is Technology
One of the big promises for the future is technology, which is already significantly enhancing several elements of trials. But at the same time, will a lot of issues like practices be accepted with the new tech?
Conclusion
It will take a greater commitment to clinical and field investigations and evidence-based research to envision a healthier future through digital innovation. But as you can see, there is a huge chance for rewards with huge potential. A digital health ecosystem that offers high-quality, individualized treatment to everyone who needs it is attainable and deserving of our best individual and collective efforts.
