Virtual Clinical Trials

What is a Virtual Clinical Trial?

Clinical trials rely on clinical trial participants - volunteers who donate their time and effort to help make the clinical trial possible.

One challenge for many people is that the clinical trial site (like a hospital or doctor’s office) may be far away. Research has shown that 70% of people who could take part in a clinical trial live more than 2 hours away from the nearest site.

Virtual clinical trials use technology, like mobile devices, apps, or online platforms, to connect participants with clinical trial staff remotely. As technology gets better, these virtual clinical trials are playing a bigger role in helping to bring the clinical trial to the participant. Virtual clinical trials are also called “decentralized clinical trials” because you do not have to go to a physical location to take part.

Benefits of Virtual Clinical Trials

In the past, clinical trials needed participants to visit a research site in person, often many times. During these visits, a clinical trial researcher or site staff would

• Give the participant a check-up
• Ask about their symptoms
• Ask about medications they were taking
• Ask about medical problems they might be having
• Run tests or ask questions to learn how the investigational treatment was working

Virtual clinical trials are different. They let participants use technology like telehealth visits, wearable devices, and online platforms, to “visit” the site from home or anywhere else.

Many clinical trials now use a mix of methods. This means participants can have remote visits unless they need or prefer to go in person. For example, some clinical trials let participants have regular visits through telehealth. They only have an in-person follow-up if it’s needed. Other trials let participants do some parts of the visit, like answering questions, at home. That saves time when they come into the clinic.

This makes it easier for more people to take part, including those in remote locations,. This can lead to:

• Better enrollment
• More diverse participants
• Higher satisfaction
• More accurate data
• Greater efficiency for trial sites and sponsors.

Challenges of Virtual Clinical Trials

• Virtual clinical trials are not always possible. For example, participants in a cancer trial might need tests like tumor scans to see how the cancer is responding to treatment. These can only be done in a clinic.
• Virtual clinical trials need more electronic data management. These trials can produce and collect a lot of data that needs to be analyzed and protected. Sponsors need to take extra steps to safeguard the privacy of the participants.
• Virtual clinical trials need users who are trained to use the technology. Virtual clinical trials let people take part remotely. They also let people take a more active role in their healthcare by collecting and reporting data in real time – and on their own time. However, people need training to use devices, apps, and platforms. Without proper training, there can be mistakes in data collection, low-quality data, and poor communication between participants and their healthcare providers or the clinical trial sponsor.

Using Virtual Capabilities to Make Tomorrow's Clinical Trials Successful

The benefits of virtual clinical trials might outweigh their challenges. Trial sponsors are using virtual tools more often to find participants and run trials online. This trend has grown in recent years as the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person visits harder. As a result, trial sponsors are trying new strategies. These include telemedicine, virtual site visits, and alternative locations for assessments outside of the physical clinical trial sites.

Find an Astellas Clinical Trial Near You

Search Astellas Clinical Trials to see if any might be a match for you or for someone you care about.