Study Conduct

National Parkinson Foundation awards more than $1 million for research

Thursday, June 30, 2011 01:06 PM

The National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) has awarded more than $1 million for clinical research projects. Through NPF's individual investigators awards program, it is supporting work to advance three key areas of Parkinson's disease: an advanced biomarker study, a clinical trial to treat memory impairment and a study of the effectiveness of a treatment for sleep apnea.

More... »

Indian regulators suspend operations at CRO Axis Clinicals

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 02:30 PM

India’s Drug Controller General (DGCI) has suspended operations at Hyderabad, India-based CRO Axis Clinicals and is vetting all bioavailability and bioequivalence study centers in Andhra Pradesh state after investigations revealed irregularities in a trial conducted by Axis, reported PharmaTimes.

More... »

Health Decisions creates ‘fixed-price trial’ model to incentivize CRO performance and speed timelines

Monday, June 27, 2011 08:03 AM

Since CROs began conducting trials for drug sponsors, there has been a lot of quibbling about cost. CROs claim to do the work more quickly, efficiently and inexpensively. But many sponsors have had the opposite experience, saying CROs don’t accomplish recruitment goals and keep extending the trial timelines to do so, adding to the sponsor’s costs. Some claim not all of the data is collected properly, taking months to then clean the data, for which sponsors are charged.

More... »

Accelerating Cancer Cures aims to train young clinical investigators

Friday, June 24, 2011 10:23 AM

A number of leading pharmaceutical companies are supporting a collaborative initiative that aims to replenish the stock of young clinical investigators working in oncology and promote translational research spanning academia and industry, PharmaTimes reported.

More... »

Pfizer’s ‘virtual’ clinical trial could have far-reaching implications for future research productivity

Monday, June 20, 2011 08:00 AM

As Pfizer begins enrolling the first-ever FDA-approved “virtual” clinical trial, which allows patients to participate from home using smartphones and computers instead of visiting a clinic, industry executives believe the study has far-reaching implications for improving the productivity of clinical trials in the future.

More... »

New nonprofit to seek consensus on social media

Friday, June 17, 2011 02:40 PM

Frustrated by FDA inaction on guidance for digital marketing and social media, a host of industry players are banding together to form a nonprofit that can hammer out consensus on a way forward, according to Medical Marketing & Media.

More... »

PatientsLikeMe, BBK join forces

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 02:04 PM

PatientsLikeMe, an online health platform, and BBK Worldwide, a healthcare marketing and patient recruitment firm, have formed an alliance to jointly offer their services to pharmaceutical companies and other industry stakeholders interested in enhancing patient recruitment and retention for ongoing and upcoming clinical research studies. 

More... »

Mass. Eye and Ear, Schepens Eye Research merging

Friday, June 10, 2011 12:17 PM

The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Schepens Eye Research Institute are combining forces to create the world's largest basic and clinical ophthalmology research enterprise, with full spectrum bench-to-bedside research that will translate more quickly into better treatment for blinding diseases and, ultimately, cures.

More... »

Foundation launches research registry for Peripheral Neuropathy

Thursday, June 9, 2011 12:52 PM

What starts as burning, numbness, pain and/or tingling in the feet or hands in some can turn into a debilitating condition. Peripheral Neuropathy (PN), one of the largest and most common neurodegenerative disorders, affects more than 20 million Americans of all races and ethnic backgrounds.

More... »

Boston's Top AMCs Join Pfizer's Centers For Therapeutic Innovation

Thursday, June 9, 2011 12:42 PM

Pfizer’s network of translational research partnerships, called the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, has launched in Boston with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard University, Partners HealthCare, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.

More... »