Hospital sites and CROs in the U.S. are still feeling the pain of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many organizations either stopping research altogether or reducing enrollment and cutting salaries. Here’s a sampling of what happened last week:
Approximately 65 percent of ICON’s trial sites across 40 countries have been impacted by COVID-19, the CRO recently announced, citing delays in enrollment due to site closures and social distancing rules. To ensure studies continue, ICON says it is reviewing and approving remote and risk-based monitoring as well as at-home services on a study-by-study basis. Salary reductions, recruitment freezes and reduced contractor costs have been adopted by the company. Sites in China, however, are reopening and clinical research operations appear to be improving in this region.
Days after MD Anderson Cancer Center completed the purchase of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals’ cell therapy manufacturing plant, the organization temporarily stopped clinical research to focus its attention on the pandemic. As a result of this research hold, MD Anderson has ceased production of Bellicum’s clinical development candidates. Currently, Bellicum is involved in 12 studies.
