Covid-19 Series: A New Era in Drug Development

Alan Lovell

It has not been a good year for clinical trials: many have been delayed, halted, or scrapped altogether because of covid-19. But amidst the chaos, might 2020 come to be seen as a new beginning—or at least a step on the road to re-imagining the clinical trial? We explore four clinical trial innovations — adaptive trials, patient-centric trials, precision medicine trials and real-world data trials — and ask what impact covid has had on their adoption.

Our short paper argues that while covid-19 has undoubtedly been bad for clinical trials in the short term, it may yet be the disruptor that brought innovation to the fore. There are four enablers to building sustainable trial innovation in drug development. These are advanced data analytics, workforce readiness, collaborative partnerships, and early regulatory, payer and patient engagement. Covid has spurred movement across all four.

However, for the changes and innovations we see happening today to remain with us after the pandemic, then stakeholders — including industry, regulators, healthcare professionals, payors, providers and patient groups — need to work together to ensure that momentum is maintained even as the newsworthiness of the pandemic wanes.

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Dr Alan Lovell is a senior associate in the Health Policy and Clinical Evidence Practice. Alan has a degree in Biology from Royal Holloway, University of London, and gained his doctorate from the University of Warwick. He worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Sainte-Justine Hospital, University of Montreal before receiving an MA with distinction in Information Studies from the University of Brighton. Alan has advised and worked on a range of projects for governments, health ministries, academic journals, healthcare providers, insurers, research funders and sporting associations.