Consulting

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

PM360 – Maximizing the Probability of Trial Success for CAR-T Cell Therapies

CAR-T cells are complex products, and translating them from basic and preclinical research to clinical trials and commercialization can be challenging. Understanding the regulations and developing a protocol that puts safety first—at every stage of development—are important first steps in bringing promising CAR-T cell therapies to the patients who need them most. CAR-T Cell Therapies:...

5 Must-Dos To Build Trust Between an Early-Stage Biotech and CRO

Most early-stage biotechnology companies have limited resources and manpower. As a result, early-stage biotechs conducting randomized clinical trial research often need a CRO’s help to deliver the quality data required to make their ideas and theories achieve practical purpose. In addition, engaging a CRO with a depth of strategic expertise early in the planning process...

Premier Voices #4: The Placebo Problem Part 2 With Michael Kuss

Measuring, interpreting, and mitigating placebo response is a persistent and growing challenge in analgesia clinical trials. In the conclusion of our Premier Voices podcast series on the placebo problem, Paul Mirek, Marketing Manager, and Michael Kuss, BS, Vice President, Analgesia Product Development, examine experimental trial designs, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and other approaches to managing the...

Premier Voices #3: The Placebo Problem Part 1 With Scott Millard

The placebo effect’s impact on drug development is widely known, but you may be surprised to learn that the word “placebo” has had multiple meanings — all of them pejorative — going back hundreds of years. Scott Millard, Premier Research’s Executive Director for Strategic Development and Analgesia, explores the role of placebos in the...

Key Considerations When Designing a Phase 1 Oncology Trial

Traditionally, phase 1 oncology trials have relied on a standard 3+3 dose escalation design to achieve the objective of defining a recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D). However, statistical simulations have shown that as few as one in three trials using the 3+3 design succeed in identifying the maximum tolerated dose.[1] Concerns have also been raised...

Planning a Gene Therapy Trial? Ask an Expert — and Pay Attention

It’s been 46 years since researchers Theodore Friedmann and Richard Roblin published a landmark paper in the journal Science that posed a provocative question: “Gene therapy for human genetic disease?” And while clinical trials for gene therapy drugs have become much more common in the past 20 years — more than 2,400 had been conducted...

A Strategic Partner, or a Vendor Looking to You for the Answers?

Your compound holds great promise, and your investors are banking on a breakthrough. Which do you pick to run your clinical trial — a CRO that will share the risks and work with you to reach a common goal or a vendor who’s waiting on you to have all the answers? Any capable CRO can provide...

Gene Therapy 101: From the 1960s to Today

Gene therapy is a hot topic in clinical research today — and for good reason! These technologies have the potential to treat — and in some cases even cure — a wide range of conditions, including rare genetic disorders that previously had no effective therapies. What Is Gene Therapy? Gene therapies are a diverse group of...

Nostalgia or Shell Shock? Assessing PTSD Is a Challenge by Any Name

Nostalgia. Irritable heart. Shell shock. No, this isn’t a word-association game. These are among the many terms applied over the years to the highly amorphous condition we now call post-traumatic stress disorder. While people have experienced shocking, scary, and dangerous events since the dawn of mankind, the study of the cause and treatment of PTSD...

Six Ways to Help Manage Staff Trauma Exposure in PTSD Trials

There are currently more than 300 ongoing clinical research studies, mostly in the academic arena, occurring around the world into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in various populations. But those with PTSD may not be the only ones’ suffering. The members of the research teams trying to help those with trauma illnesses, like PTSD, need to...