Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness

ArcheMedx Inc.

Welcome to Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness, a series featuring life science executives who share their stories and insights related to clinical operations, and clinical trial readiness.

Episodes

  1. 12/09/2021

    Pandemic Impact on Clinical Trial Recruitment with Atul Mahableshwarkar, M.D., DFAPA

    Atul Mahableshwarkar Dr. Atul Mahableshwarkar is the Senior Vice President of Drug Development at Emalex Biosciences. He is a trained psychiatrist who began his career in clinical practice and academia. Since joining the pharmaceutical industry, he has had the opportunity to learn from both successes and failures in his clinical trial work at companies of all sizes. Atul shares that early in his career, he was more interested in research than methodology. He credits his colleagues at the time with opening his eyes to the fact that incorrect operations can sink an otherwise viable product. The interest in methodology that that understanding sparked has shaped his career over the last 15-20 years. Episode Highlights The pivotal role of strong methodology in allowing good products to succeedAtul’s advice for others beginning to design clinical trialsWhat he sees as the greatest challenges clinical trials have in commonHow teams can help motivate clinical trial participationWhere standard concepts of patient-centricity may be lackingHow collaboration can help minimize mistakesThe Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations Emalex has earned from the FDA, and how other organizations can pursue Orphan Drug statusHow the pandemic nearly tripled Emalex’s enrollmentThe importance of supporting sites that may feel threatened by decentralized clinical trialsThe pandemic-enforced recruitment practices he plans to continueKey considerations in choosing a preferred ratings scale, and what his isRater training as a misnomer that needs revisingHow to assess and manage raters appropriatelyThe value of monitoring data and communicating insights to stakeholders in real timeLinks https://www.linkedin.com/in/atul-mahableshwarkar-07772338/ https://emalexbiosciences.com/ https://isctm.org https://cnssummit.org

    35 min
  2. 10/28/2021

    Are Virtual SIVs the Future?: Interview with Jennifer Brandl

    Jennifer Brandl is the Associate Director of Clinical Operations at Kezar Life Sciences. She has 15 years of experience as a researcher and clinical operations specialist, and she is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Data Science from the University of Wisconsin. Jennifer credits her prior experience at a smaller biotech company with giving her a critical foundation in clinical conduct and study execution. At Kezar, she leverages this expertise and her passion for research to support the company’s development of pioneering therapies and to change the lives of patients. Episode HighlightsThe elements of Jennifer’s expertise that have especially helped her drive success in the trials she managesThe benefits of functional service provider outsourcing modelsHow Kezar’s patient-centric nature had the company well prepared to navigate the COVID-19 pandemicThe greatest challenges Jennifer and Kezar experienced due to the pandemic, and some positive outcomesImportant considerations for organizations exploring home health optionsHow communication and relationship-building form the foundation of clinical trial workThe challenges and benefits she’s experienced conducting site initiation visits virtuallyHow best to prepare before updating or transforming site initiation processesWhat she believes is next for decentralized clinical trialsHow automation and tech adoption can help extract more insight from dataResources:Kezar Life Sciences Jennifer Brandl on LinkedIn Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness Interview Series

    24 min
  3. 08/25/2021

    Why every clinical trial needs to consider Middle East and African sites: Interview with Ahmed Hamouda

    Ahmed Hamouda Ahmed Hamouda is the Head of Clinical Operations in the Middle East and Africa at RAY. In more than 10 years in the clinical research field, Ahmed has worked on both the CRO side and the pharmaceutical side in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, and Africa.  Ahmed brings the full range of his experience to bear at RAY, which provides outsourcing and consulting services to support pharmaceutical and biotech companies through the clinical trial development process. With RAY, Ahmed leverages his expertise to bring hope and opportunity to patient populations who would not otherwise be reached. Episode Highlights  Why Africa and Middle Eastern markets represent a major opportunity for sponsorsWhat regulations and unique requirements sponsors need to understand before moving into these marketsHow the site selection and preparation process is different in these markets as opposed to in the U.S.The importance of partnering with qualified regional experts The challenges involved in driving patient participation in these regionsHow one rare disease clinical trial was saved by a move from the U.S. to the Middle East, and how that move paid off in terms of recruitmentPotential logistical issues with global trials and how RAY manages themWhy continuous education is so important for sitesHow Ahmed and RAY estimate the timeframe for study startup in a new regionThe unexpected positive regional outcomes of the pandemic   Resources:Ray-CRO  Ahmed Hamouda on LinkedIn Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness Interview Series

    26 min
  4. 07/21/2021

    Increasing Access to People of African Descent in Pharma: Interview with Peju Oshisanya

    Peju OshisanyaPeju Oshisanya is a Director and Clinical Program Leader at BenevolentAI. With more than 20 years in the drug research industry, Peju is an expert in pharmaceutical organization. Her career has run the gamut from early roles as a clinical trial associate to extensive experience running a wide range of global clinical research programs. In her role at BenevolentAI, she pairs her biomedical science background with further perspective from the tech side. Peju is a passionate proponent of diversity in data and inclusion in clinical trial research. She believes that problems of diversity and inclusion are fixable, and she has determined to become a champion of that change, working to raise awareness and dedicating her own career to upend the status quo. Episode HighlightsPeju’s “aha” moment that drove home the magnitude of inequity in biopharma, health, and clinical trialsWhy it’s crucial to really understand the communities that we want to include in researchHow decision-makers’ personal perspectives influence which diseases are prioritized and which treatments are fundedWhy representation needs to extend to the experts rather than stopping with the patient populationWhy it’s misleading and counter-productive to frame populations using the term “minority”How helping patients understand the importance of research in informing treatments can help motivate participationThe huge potential opportunity Africa represents for clinical trialsThe problem of perception when it comes to African institutions’ preparednessHow mining past data can create a self-perpetuating cycle that prevents capable sites from becoming experienced sitesWhat we can do to help ameliorate diverse patient populations’ trust in the healthcare industryHow anyone, regardless of their role within a company, can take steps to influence diversity in researchHow the pandemic has signaled hope for diversity and inclusion going forwardResources: Peju Oshisanya on LinkedIn BenevolentAI Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness Interview Series

    44 min
  5. 06/02/2021

    How Can We Manage the Increasing Complexity of Clinical Trial Protocols? Interview with Ken Getz of Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development

    Ken Getz is the Director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development and a Research Professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine. Ken is an expert in drug development management and practices who has dedicated much of his career to raising awareness of clinical research enterprise. In addition to frequently speaking at industry events and publishing in peer-reviewed journals, Ken is the founder of several organizations, including the non-profit CISCRP and the publisher CenterWatch. His career is a true testament to his belief in the importance of transparency and keeping all clinical research stakeholders well-informed. Episode HighlightsThe takeaways, both expected and surprising, from 2020 protocol performance dataThe factors that are contributing to increased complexity in clinical trial protocolsWhy simplifying the design of a study is not the right goalThe inherent benefits in complexity, and how we can reap them through proper managementWhat drives regulatory agencies to seek to quell rising complexity in clinical trial protocolsWhy more data isn’t necessarily betterThe importance of investigating underlying causes of problems rather than defaulting to solving them with volumeWhat happened to feasibility committees and what should replace themWhy it’s critical to incorporate patient input into study designThe consistent positive impact of patient advisory boardsHow taking the time for thoughtful advanced planning can help preclude costly unplanned amendments later onResources:Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development Ken Getz on LinkedIn CISCRP CenterWatch Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness Interview Series

    40 min
  6. 04/20/2021

    Struggling with the Silent Killer: An Honest Look at How Demanding Oncology Trials Have Become with Rebecca Setta

    Rebecca Setta is an Associate Director at OncoSec whose 13 years of experience in clinical trials have given her the benefit of several different perspectives. Rebecca began her career on the vendor side, and her continuous pursuit of development and higher-level understanding led her to transition to the CRO space in 2015. Her role at OncoSec represents the natural evolution of a career shaped around an inherent desire for growth through further immersion in clinical trials. In Rebecca’s years of experience at the project level, she consistently found building effective teams to be among the most rewarding elements of her work. She now brings that expertise to bear at the department level, where she can act as a mentor, shaping a team to build on her knowledge and experience.  Episode Highlights How Rebecca helps her team avoid burnout in a grueling fieldThe common characteristics she saw across the sites that adapted best at the start of the pandemicThe crucial change in mindset that she’s encouraged in her CRAsThe COVID-inflicted adaptations she expects to persist post-pandemicWhy it’s important to partner with sitesThe unexpected upside to the pandemic adjustments her sites have madeWhat really impresses her about the industryHow remote work and limited face time can impact morale, and one way she compensates for thatHow the weighty context of oncology research can also translate to motivationWhy she is so excited about the future of the industryResources https://oncosec.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/oncosec-medical-inc/ https://twitter.com/oncosec

    29 min

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About

Welcome to Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness, a series featuring life science executives who share their stories and insights related to clinical operations, and clinical trial readiness.