Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

How to Use Patient Registries and Natural History Studies in Rare Disease Development

Successful drug development requires a deep understanding of the disease of interest—its etiology, epidemiology, presentation, manifestations, and progression. In rare diseases, however, much of this information may be unknown. Patient populations are small and historical data are collected inconsistently and dispersed across treating physicians practicing in diverse geographies. Patient registries and natural history studies are...

Premier Research Named Partner of Choice

Premier Research has been cited in a Clinical Leader article as the CRO partner of choice for Daré Bioscience. The article, “How To Build A Strong CRO Partnership And Find Drug Development Success,” explores criteria to keep in mind when selecting the ideal CRO partner and how a positive sponsor-CRO partnership led to success in...

Natural History Studies: Understanding and Enhancing Their Value in Rare Diseases

Successful drug development requires a comprehensive understanding of the underlying disease. To design reliable clinical trials with meaningful, measurable outcome measures, sponsors must apply thorough knowledge of disease presentation, manifestations, and progression, which may be challenging in rare diseases where this information is minimal. Thus, observational studies, encompassing both registry and natural history studies, play...

IVDR Survival Guide: Understanding the IVDR Product Classification System and Complying with the New Clinical Evidence and Performance Expectations

The EU has been working to strengthen its regulations for better patient protection and more effective implementation of the rules for in vitro diagnostic medical devices. As a result, in May 2017, a five-year in vitro diagnostic regulation (IVDR) transition plan went into effect. While some of the dates have been extended1 to allow for...

Considerations for Clinical Studies in Contraception

Women today can choose from a wide range of effective and safe contraceptives based on their medical and lifestyle needs. Over the course of their lives, women may change contraceptive methods for a variety of reasons, such as concerns about side effects. For researchers, the objective of contraceptive development is to design products that offer...

5 Tips for Operationalizing Gene Therapy Studies

Gene therapy clinical trials are logistically complex studies that require highly qualified sites and engaged patients for success. The ability to select the right sites and patients can be the difference between product failure and market approval. In this final part of a three-part blog series on gene therapy development, we provide tips on operationalizing...

Designing Robust Gene Therapy Studies

To develop a successful gene therapy, sponsors must conduct research studies that balance the need for safety oversight and robust clinical evidence with the challenges of finding the right patients, pairing them with qualified sites, providing informed consent, and confirming they are capable of — and committed to — fulfilling all protocol requirements. In...

IVDR Survival Guide Part 2: Preparing for the NB Bottleneck

The In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) has fundamentally changed how in vitro diagnostics (IVD) are regulated in the EU. As a result, scrutiny for review and documentation has increased substantially, including a dramatic increase in required reviews by notified bodies (NB). For IVD companies, the challenge of adapting to a significant set of regulatory updates...

IVDR Survival Guide Part 1: A Deep Dive into Classification, Clinical Evidence, and Performance Requirements

Pursuing the Promise of Gene Therapy: Pathways to Successful Clinical Trials

The promise of gene therapy is to provide transformative treatments that meaningfully improve quality of life for patients, many of whom are currently living with debilitating diseases. To bring these treatments to market, sponsors are tasked with conducting clinical trials that generate robust evidence with appropriate safety oversight. In addition, gene therapy trials are faced...