Report from Almac Confirms ePRO Benefits Outweigh Paper-Based Alternative for Clinical Trials

Almac Group, a global leader in technology and services for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries announced the results of a survey conducted by researchers at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, outlining the perceptions and anticipated implementation of electronic Patient Reported Outcome (ePRO) methods used in conducting clinical trials. 

The survey results, backed by a grant from Almac, found that sponsor and CRO companies are receptive to, and plan to increase their use of ePRO. The results revealed that the top benefits of ePRO adoption are increased data quality, patient compliance, and efficiency of data collection. Although respondent perceptions about ePRO indicated that ePRO is more expensive than paper, few companies could provide metrics about these cost comparisons.

The results of the survey, based on 22 responses from 18 companies, also show that the adoption rate of ePRO will continue to rise, as it is still a relatively new addition to clinical research programs. More than two-fifths (61%) of respondents indicated their companies began using ePRO in the last 5 years, while 11% have been using ePRO for more than 10 years. In examining future trends, more than three-quarters of respondents expected that there would be increasing ePRO usage for post-marketing trials for primary and secondary endpoints.

Mark Wade, Almac’s Director of Patient-Focused Solutions commented “The findings highlight that 2/3 of companies in this survey are satisfied with ePRO and over half indicate that the time to database lock is shorter with ePRO.  As regulatory bodies continue to press for higher standards of data quality and sponsors seek cost savings, Almac is strongly positioned to provide solutions and offer support to ease the transition from traditional methods to electronic reporting systems.”

To access a summary of the survey findings, visit http://www.almacgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Tufts-CSDD-Study-of-ePRO-Usage-in-Clinical-Trials.pdf. To find out more visit http://www.almacgroup.com/clinical-technologies/ecoa-solutions/epro-for-phase-iii-and-beyond/.