BBK Worldwide, a clinical trial marketing firm headquartered in Needham, Mass., and the Alliance for Clinical Research Excellence and Safety (ACRES), a Cambridge, Mass.-based nonprofit, are collaborating to ensure patients are a central part of the organization’s efforts in standards development, one aspect of ACRES’ work in the development of a global system for clinical research.

BBK founding principal Bonnie A. Brescia will participate in ACRES’ efforts around patient centricity and advocacy, including the ACRES Site Accreditation and Standards Initiative (SASI) phase III patient engagement subcommittee. Building on earlier phases, which surveyed the current clinical research environment to identify key issues regarding site standards, the third phase involves formal creation of standards and metrics for site accreditation. Experts drawn from the global stakeholder community will develop standards in at least seven domains, including recruitment and enrollment.  

“BBK brings the experience in patient recruitment and engagement needed to help facilitate a comprehensive patient-centric strategy needed for the development of a global system,” said Greg Koski, president and CEO of ACRES.

“Organizations with a patient-centric approach will outperform and maintain a competitive advantage over those who are solely focused on their bottom line,” said Brescia. “By including patients in study design, outreach, message development, site orientation and training, we all benefit. And we couldn’t be happier to see the ways in which the industry is working to bring patients into the research process.”

Koski said, “There is nothing more important in a clinical trial than the participants. Developing and implementing more effective approaches to reach and engage patients in the process as true partners as an integral part of the endeavor, rather than as mere resources for getting trials done, is critical.”