Recruitment platform offered free-of-charge for coronavirus clinical trials

As the novel coronavirus disease spreads around the world, with the death toll rising at nearly 5,000 at the time of writing, the clinical research industry sees a swiftly increasing number of drug developers taking their projects into human trials, aiming to combat the pandemic.

However, clinical trials focused on coronavirus are reportedly struggling with patient recruitment​ due to several factors, leading to obstruction and deceleration of the development projects.

Amidst this challenge, ClinOne—a developer of software applications supporting clinical trial enrollment, retention and research site compliance—announced that it is offering its services for free to those researching a vaccine to prevent coronavirus.

According to the company, the offer will include its ‘site-facing’ (Core, Schedule of Events Manager) modules, as well as its ‘patient-facing’ modules including CTC Digital Concierge and eConsent.

Asked about the challenges that coronavirus clinical trials are facing, VP of ClinOne’s Operations and Research, Elizabeth Esterl told us that ‘time’ is the main one.

“The first new vaccine approved by the FDA will not happen overnight and it is expected to take minimally 12-18 months,” ​said Esterl, adding:

“We are most willing to assist by sharing our technology at no cost to pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines that offer prevention to the virus.”​

Last year, the company announced the launch of its direct-to-patient recruitment platform​, ClinTrial Connect, aiming to assist patients with acquiring a better understanding of the clinical trial and enable connectivity within their family environment. According to the company, the platform was intended to be offered for free during the first year of use.

Earlier this year, ClinOne extended its footprint by entering Europe​ with its first office located in London, UK.