In With the New

Welcome to the October edition of Applied Clinical Trials, in which we touch on a number of trending 2025 topics, including the use of technology in patient retention, utilizing a more proactive approach with including patient-reported outcomes, and what the future holds for the clinical trial supply chain in light of recent policy shifts.

As perhaps you have noticed perusing our digital edition, we are sporting a bit of a different look than usual. Beginning with this issue, we are excited to introduce a fresh redesign of ACT. Thanks to the help of our editorial advisory board, internal creative design team, and, of course, our readers, we incorporated feedback to create a more modern and inviting presentation.

In recent years, the publication has made a strong shift toward multimedia content, and we feel this new design is a great way to complement that. We hope you enjoy it, and make sure to look out for this new design replicated on our website, which we hope to have in place very soon to go along with the print staple.

Transitioning to what’s inside our October edition, as our headline feature, we proudly present results and data breakouts from ACT’s inaugural State of the Industry survey (to view the slideshow, we just ask that you please fill out a quick registration). Without giving too much away here, we gathered data from more than 70 clinical operations respondents on what they feel are some of the most pressing challenges that currently exist with running clinical trials. You will actually find a deep dive into the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) part of the survey from one of our regular contributors, Rebecca Johnson, PhD, here.

Following the special survey section is our cover piece on the growing risk of tariffs in clinical trials. Author Bob Beall, a vice president at ProPharma, explores how tariffs imposed on pharmaceutical products can impact and challenge the clinical development supply chain in various ways, such as shipping delays, increased costs passed on to sponsors, and more.

As always, thank you for reading.

Mike Hennessy Jr is chairman and CEO of MJH Life Sciences®