Value of Time and Money

Industry Standard Research has recently released its 3rd annual "CRO Quality Benchmarking Report." The report not only profiles the delivery quality of leading CROs, but also provides a wealth of information that relates to larger industry trends, including the value of recruitment speed.

After three consecutive years of collecting data, a critical mass to reflect upon has been collected. The basic statistics class axiom: "It takes three data points to make a trend," has been met.

Source: ISR Reports: Survey participants were asked to indicate their preference for one benefit over the other. n=160 (2009); 150 (2010); 169 (2011)

After examining the data, it is clear and undeniable: sponsors are expressing an unmet need for faster recruitment. It's not difficult to make sense of this. Project manager job appraisals and compensation are tied to trial speed. In addition, the rule-of-thumb is that for each day's delay in getting a drug to market, the manufacturer loses a million dollars in revenue. Perhaps to some readers this qualifies as a "duh" take-away, but the magnitude of the disparity remains interesting—price is important too.

Patient recruitment continues to be a source of consternation in the industry, and service providers are constantly measured against this metric. The ones that do it well will establish loyalty among their customers and the ones that do it poorly will struggle.

—Industry Standard Research, www.ISRreports.com.