ACT Brief Weekly Recap: Partnerships, Site Networks, and AI Reshaping Clinical Trials

This is the Applied Clinical Trials Brief—your fast track to the latest insights in clinical research operations. In under three minutes, we’ll recap top stories, highlight expert perspectives, and keep you current on what’s moving the industry. Let’s get into it.

On this episode, we’re highlighting three of the most-viewed stories from the past week.

First up, a new global partnership in the clinical and commercial technology space aims to simplify operations and improve efficiency. The agreement focuses on making data and software platforms work seamlessly together, giving customers more flexibility and reducing complexity. On the clinical side, it provides access to integrated applications for running trials, while on the commercial side, it enables smoother use of advanced capabilities, including AI-driven tools. The goal is clear: streamline workflows, accelerate processes, and ultimately improve outcomes for patients.

Our second story looks at why clinical trials are at a crossroads and how site networks are becoming critical to success. With nearly 80% of trials failing to meet initial enrollment targets and dropout rates averaging 30%, under-resourced sites face mounting pressure. Site networks offer a path forward by providing infrastructure, operational support, and community-based models that improve recruitment, retention, and diversity. By shifting from transactional to collaborative relationships, the industry can build trial delivery systems that are more sustainable, inclusive, and efficient.

And finally, we turn to a closer look at how generative AI is reshaping regulatory submissions. While AI promises faster creation of clinical study reports, the real bottleneck lies in outdated processes filled with redundancy and subjective content. Experts emphasize that before AI can deliver true efficiency, organizations must focus on data readiness and content readiness—standardizing inputs, streamlining documents, and prioritizing objective reporting. Done right, AI becomes a catalyst for transforming the entire regulatory ecosystem, creating submissions that are faster, clearer, and more consistent for both sponsors and regulators.

That’s all for this week’s recap. For more on these stories and other developments in clinical research, visit us at appliedclinicaltrialsonline.com. Thanks for listening to the Applied Clinical Trials Brief.