CVS Health debuts clinical trial services business
CVS Health is launching a new business focused on clinical trials.
The company noted that despite the importance of clinical trials, less than 4% of the U.S. population participates in them, with 80% of studies failing to meet enrollment deadlines and an average participant dropout rate of 30%.
CVS also noted that the new business brings together innovation and experience to help solve these challenges, driving greater access to clinical trials across the communities it serves and creating a more efficient, convenient experience to improve participant retention and research effectiveness.
"Traditionally low patient enrollment, diversity and engagement coupled with inconvenient trial sites, challenging study participation requirements, including the length of participation, show the need to improve the current model particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Troyen Brennan, CVS Health executive vice president and chief medical officer. "Combining clinical trial expertise from across the CVS Health enterprise with our growing connection to the communities we serve, will help create a new clinical trial experience that works better for participants, health care providers, clinical research organizations and study sponsors."
CVS Health Clinical Trial Services is working with key stakeholders in the biopharmaceutical industry and across the clinical trial ecosystem to design and deliver innovative approaches to research and real-world evidence generation. The new business will initially focus on scaling three core capabilities:
- Precision patient recruitment: Leveraging analytics, national reach, and local community connections to engage individuals by helping them learn about clinical trial opportunities that may be appropriate for them;
- Clinical trial delivery: Innovative, decentralized options for the delivery of Phase III/IV clinical trials and real-world evidence studies at CVS locations, at home or virtually;
- Real-world evidence generation and studies: Retrospective and prospective studies that measure the impact of novel devices and therapeutics in real-world settings.
CVS Health collaborated with the pharmaceutical industry to help facilitate clinical trials for investigational COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Using a specially designed digital model and screening protocols, CVS Health engaged more than 300,000 volunteers who met the study inclusion criteria for COVID-19 vaccine trial consideration and helped them connect to studies close to where they live.