The IQVIA Institute for Health Data Science has come out with a new report that looks back at the historic timelines achieved by the COVID-19 vaccine trials, outlining lessons learned from the unprecedented research effort that have application now and in future research.

The report highlights a major factor in the acceleration of COVID-19 vaccine development speeds: the reduction of “white space” by the near-immediate initiation of phase 2 and 3 trials after phase 1 starts, as well as submitting for Emergency Use Authorization the moment enough safety and efficacy data had been gathered. This was additionally supported by high responsiveness on the part of sites, sponsors, vendors and regulatory agencies, the report notes.

The IQVIA Institute attributes about half of this reduction of white space to vaccine acceleration; rapid trial timelines, reached through “shifts in operational actions, organizational alignment and delivery-model drivers,” accounted for the other half. Supporting this point, the institute cited an analysis of the acceleration of phase 2 and 3 trials across a set of COVID-19 trials that found an average time saving of 26 months.

“The COVID-19 vaccine development experience and analysis surfaced a range of behavioral, organizational and operational changes that are expected to have relevancy in accelerating ongoing value delivery from the industry pipeline,” the report concludes. “While many of these changes were precipitated by unique environmental enablers, many are repeatable outside of the context of the pandemic.”

Access the report here: https://bit.ly/3EUtOY0.