September 2002 – The CenterWatch Monthly : Volume 9, Issue 9, September 2002

Is Study Cost Management Harming Sites?

Investigative sites report that sponsors and CROs are setting unrealistic budgets and taking much longer to pay study grants. As a result, investigative sites face significant cash flow and profitability problems.

A Dynamic and Robust Medical Device Market

Clinical study grant spending continues to grow by more than 20% annually. Total grants for medical device trials will exceed $500 million in 2002. Most of the pressure to conduct trials for devices is coming from physicians, not the FDA.

Centrestage Europe: Trials Unit of North Manchester General to Service Three Hospitals

Though few hospitals in the United Kingdom have a clinical trials unit, those that do stand to reap handsome benefits following a merger with those hospitals that lack this capacity. Large clinical trials units can potentially gain a competitive edge in offering broadly based study conduct services.

Eye On: Kidney Cancer

Renal cell carcinoma arises from cells lining the renal tube. It affects about three of 10,000 people and accounts for about 85% of all kidney tumors and 3% of all adult cancers. It is now the 10th most common cancer in the United States. While treatment approaches include hormone therapy and arterial embolization, immunotherapy offers the most promise.

• Month in Review
• In the Pipeline
• Opportunities Underway
• TrialWatch