RASMUS HJORTH
Head of Communication, James Lind Care, Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract

80% of clinical trials are delayed due to recruitment problems. This is a well-known figure but despite its familiarity, it shouldn’t be normalised. It’s a dissatisfying number that calls for action to improve our work in clinical trials. Luckily, there’s a solution to this problem, and the even better news is that it will probably fix more than just the 80% issue. The aim of this article is to give a better understanding and overview of the challenges related to patient participation in clinical trials and providing actionable suggestions to activities that would solve these challenges and hopefully improve the drug development process all together.

Why do we need to dwell at the 80% of clinical trials being delayed due to recruitment problems, you might think? Why is this number so important?

I tell you why, because in this number lies one of the keys to improve drug development, ensuring that lifesaving medical treatment can be developed faster and probably cheaper, benefiting patients as well as the industry.
But more importantly, the 80% are also hurting the backbone of the pharmaceutical industry, trust. When you are dealing with testing of new medical treatments, you need to have trust between the patients and the industry. And delayed or even cancelled clinical trials are slowly but steadily erupting that trust.
In order to fix the 80% of clinical trial delays and increase the trust among patients towards pharmaceutical companies we need to shift the perspective on the role of the patient in the drug development process from being passive to being an active contributor. Here is where patient engagement will be the solution.

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