• SKIP TO CONTENT
  • SKIP NAVIGATION
  • Patient Resources
    • COVID-19 Patient Resource Center
    • Clinical Trials
    • Search Clinical Trials
    • Patient Notification System
    • What is Clinical Research?
    • Volunteering for a Clinical Trial
    • Understanding Informed Consent
    • Useful Resources
    • FDA Approved Drugs
  • Professional Resources
    • Research Center Profiles
    • Clinical Trial Listings
    • Market Research
    • FDA Approved Drugs
    • Training Guides
    • Books
    • eLearning
    • Events
    • Newsletters
    • JobWatch
    • White Papers
    • SOPs
    • eCFR and Guidances
  • White Papers
  • Trial Listings
  • Advertise
  • COVID-19
  • iConnect
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Cultivate Your Clinical Researchers, Pharma

Cultivate Your Clinical Researchers, Pharma

August 25, 2006
CenterWatch Staff

Pharma companies know they have to reach out to new and inexperienced investigators to maintain capacity for growth in emerging regions. Investigator capacity is a major issue in these markets because they have experienced such significant growth in recent years. In the U.S., though, companies have taken more of a sink-or-swim approach when introducing physicians to clinical research, and they could be making a big mistake.

In the U.S. new sites are often given a chance to participate in clinical trials through competitive enrollment. If they meet patient numbers by a deadline, then they participate. If not, they waste a lot of time and energy for nothing, because often they don’t get a second shot at it.

Call it ‘natural site selection,’ but it doesn’t work. By offering competitive enrollment, pharma companies are potentially cutting off a new supply of qualified clinical research investigators before they get a chance to contribute.

In 2001, CenterWatch identified a shortfall in the number of U.S. clinical research investigators as a bottleneck in clinical research. By 2005, it became clear that the number of investigators conducting clinical research was not increasing at the same rate as the number of clinical trials. Older, experienced investigators were retiring faster than newer investigators were coming on board.

In a recent Thomson Centerwatch survey of more than 7,000 physicians, about half report they do not participate in clinical trials. Centerwatch data indicate that the greatest barrier to an investigator’s participation—for the first time or subsequent times—is the time commitment.

Perhaps surprisingly, only 9% of investigators cite money as a reason to participate in clinical research. The idea that physicians enter into clinical research to chase “easy money” is largely a myth. Those who do most likely will burn out quickly. The 49% of physicians who do enter research and remain involved in trials rank professional development, interest in research and a drive to improve patient care as key motivators.

Pharma companies would do well to recognize the motivations behind prospective investigators’ willingness to participate in clinical research and cultivate them. Site selection by both pharma companies and contract research organizations, to which they often outsource this activity, needs to be improved a great deal in order to have a healthy supply of clinical research investigators available to conduct their clinical trials in the U.S.

Clinical trials will always have to be conducted in the U.S., but the proportion of trials conducted here is getting smaller. Pharma companies, the government and medical schools would do well to ensure that we have physicians who are educated about the business of clinical research and are willing to conduct clinical trials.

Upcoming Events

  • 24May

    Powering an Effective Oversight Strategy with Clinical and Operational Insights

  • 25May

    2022 WCG Avoca Quality & Innovation Summit: Own the Future

  • 28Jun

    Effective Root Cause Analysis and CAPA Investigations for the Life Sciences

  • 16Oct

    WCG MAGI's Clinical Research Hybrid Conference - 2022 West

Featured Products

  • Spreadsheet Validation: Tools and Techniques to Make Data in Excel Compliant

    Spreadsheet Validation: Tools and Techniques to Make Data in Excel Compliant

  • Surviving an FDA GCP Inspection

    Surviving an FDA GCP Inspection: Resources for Investigators, Sponsors, CROs and IRBs

Featured Stories

  • Protocol-360x240.png

    Avoid Deviations by Making Protocol Review a Team Effort

  • SelectionProcess-360x240.png

    Give Us a Voice: Sites Clamor for a Say on Vendor Selection

  • Convince-360x240.png

    Use Data and Details to Convince Site Leadership to Add Staff

  • AsktheExpertsBadge-360x240.png

    Ask the Experts: Listing Trial Staff and Others on the Statement of Investigator

Standard Operating Procedures for Risk-Based Monitoring of Clinical Trials

The information you need to adapt your monitoring plan to changing times.

Learn More Here
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Footer Logo

300 N. Washington St., Suite 200, Falls Church, VA 22046, USA

Phone 617.948.5100 – Toll free 866.219.3440

Copyright © 2022. All Rights Reserved. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing