School’s Out for Summer, But Learning Continues

If you haven’t had the opportunity to attend the Drug Information Association (DIA) Global Annual Meeting (GAM) held each year in June, this would be the year to do it. From June 19-23 in Chicago, this year’s DIA theme is “Innovation through Collaboration.” Tamei Elliott, senior manager of scientific programs with the DIA, said, “DIA has seen tremendous effort across the globe that has led to work-sharing initiatives, sharing of best practices and lessons learned, which then warrants the questions: ‘How do we sustain the innovation that has come out of the pandemic and what do we want to keep moving forward as a best practice?’” A DIA hallmark is regulatory authorities as presenters. This event will be no different and features town halls with FDA, Health Canada, Asia, PMDA, China, and a co-hosted Question Time with EMA and FDA.

Elliott noted that trends uncovered during the pandemic make up the topics of many of the key sessions. Those trends include global harmonization, collaboration, and cooperation; regulatory flexibility from the regulators; utilization of real-world data and real-world evidence; challenges in the recruitment of diverse populations in clinical trials; remote monitoring of clinical trials; expanded integration of digital and remote approaches; decentralized clinical trials; importance of patient engagement; and supply chain challenges.

Elliott said, “These topics encourage the importance of collaboration during the most challenging times, and through that, innovation evolves that then leads to new therapies and cures, as well as the creation of the supporting tools and processes that benefit the patients in need.”

Decentralized trials

Starting on page 12, the sponsored article on patient centricity is the result of a roundtable held with key pharma experts. While all come from different-sized companies and therapeutic focuses, there was a consensus on what DCTs bring to the patient-centric table. These are best summarized by Jeremy Price, MBA, senior director, clinical innovation and strategic partnerships for Pfizer, who stated the company’s three pillars of DCT value are boosting study enrollment and retention; increasing diversity and inclusion in study populations; and creating a more patient-centric experience.

Lisa Henderson is Editor-in-Chief of Applied Clinical Trials. She can be reached at lhenderson@mjhlifesciences.com.