IMS Health, a Parsippany, N.J.-based provider of information, services and technology for the healthcare industry, launched IMS SiteOptimizer, a cloud-based solution that enables clinical trial organizations to more effectively identify and assess trial site locations and recruit best-performing investigators.

Leveraging the company’s DecisionView technology platform, the new offering captures and analyzes enrollment performance for clinical trial investigative sites and investigators. With this insight, study teams can build optimized site rosters based on real-world performance, identifying sites and selecting investigators based on their experience with an indication, geographic location and available capacity.

“IMS SiteOptimizer delivers unprecedented access to a rich source of historical investigator information, enhancing trial site identification and selection so that it’s a data-driven, evidence-based decision process,” said Linda Drumright, general manager, IMS Health. “When integrated with our StudyOptimizer solution, SiteOptimizer offers bottom-up, site-level enrollment planning and more granular enrollment optimization. Customers now are able to select a higher-performing set of sites for their trials.”

Median phase III clinical trials typically involve about 800 patients and 50 investigator sites and take nearly two years to complete. With site initiation now exceeding $30,000 per site, the cost of non-performing locations is significant.

Investigative site teams often are unable to quickly enroll the number of research subjects that trial sponsors or site administrators expect. As a result, study teams frequently must take costly remedial actions to bring clinical trial enrollment back on plan. Without access to proper analytical tools and historical performance data, organizations tend to select the same poor-performing sites and investigators.

“The ability and infrastructure to effectively translate operational data into actionable results and measurable value is truly a core asset that can directly enhance clinical trial productivity and success,” said Alan Louie, research director, IDC Health Insights. “Analytic tools such as SiteOptimizer are becoming increasingly important to support and improve key clinical development processes such as site selection. They drive more effective use of organizational data, helping companies reduce their risks in strategic decision making.”

IMS SiteOptimizer is available through the company’s Clinical Trial Performance Optimization unit, part of IMS’s Healthcare Value Solutions business.