The clinical research industry stands at an inflection point, facing a choice between two distinct futures. The first path is “friendliness.” It’s the continuation of the status quo, softened by cosmetic improvements and well-intentioned gestures. This path accepts the underlying drivers of failure—burdensome protocols that lead to an average 30% patient dropout rate—as unavoidable costs...
The idea of using CAR-T cell therapy for multiple sclerosis has moved from speculation to practical testing in the clinic. Early reports show that this therapeutic can be delivered safely, can reach the cerebrospinal fluid, and can produce changes in immune biomarkers that matter in progressive disease. This matters because B cells and antibody-producing cells...
In business, the adage is simple: what gets measured gets managed. We apply this rigor to our financial performance and operational efficiency, so why not to our patient-centricity efforts? For too long, the success of a clinical trial has been measured by a set of purely operational KPIs—enrollment rates, query rates, site activation times. While...
Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies like ocrelizumab have advanced MS treatment significantly and offered real hope to many patients. Yet, over time, their limitations have become harder to ignore, particularly when it comes to progressive forms of MS, where patients continue to accumulate disability despite treatment. Why Anti-CD20 Falls Short These therapies are highly effective at depleting...
For decades, the clinical trial industry has asked patients for their data, their time, and their bodies. It’s time we started asking for their expertise. True patient-centricity means shifting from passively collecting patient “input” to actively seeking patient “partnership.” This is most powerfully realized in protocol co-creation, where patients are given a seat at the...
For decades, patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases have relied on therapies that manage symptoms but rarely alter the long-term trajectory of disease. The arrival of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy could change that paradigm. This advanced approach is demonstrating its potential to re-engineer the immune system, targeting the underlying causes...
When the single biggest reason for patient dropout is the burden of travel, continuing to design every trial around a physical clinic isn’t just inefficient—it represents a systemic failure to meet patients where they are. Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCTs) are often discussed as a technology trend, but this view misses the point entirely. DCT is...
Biotech companies are increasingly turning to specialized contract research organizations (CROs) to handle their clinical trials, especially for complex and innovative therapies like allogeneic CAR-T. While large, traditional CROs have long been the industry standard, their one-size-fits-all model often creates significant risks for the unique needs of biotech firms. The high-stakes nature of groundbreaking research...
Many clinical trials today treat patient burden with kid gloves—offering comforts and courtesies to soften the blow of a fundamentally flawed process. But what if we stopped trying to soften the blow and instead focused on removing the barrier entirely? This is the critical difference between accommodation and re-engineering. Accommodation (The “Kid Gloves” Approach): This...
CAR-T therapies have already redefined treatment options in hematologic cancers, and today the same innovation is beginning to transform the way we approach autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and myasthenia gravis. The industry’s pivot from autologous to allogeneic, “off-the-shelf” CAR-T therapies represents more than just a scientific breakthrough—it’s a new paradigm in...
