ePharmaSolutions and CenterWatch Launch ReferralPlus™ into Production Pilot Studies

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Dec. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ePharmaSolutions a leading clinical services and eClinical solutions provider, today announced the Patient Sharing Initiative has been officially renamed to ReferralPlus™ and has been successfully launched into production pilots with studies from major pharmaceutical companies.  This initiative is designed to increase the chances for clinical trial volunteers  to find studies for which they may qualify through a collaboration of pharmaceutical companies and CRO who are participating.

With up to $8 million being lost every day a medicine does not get to market and only 6% of clinical trials completing on time, the need for collaboration between sponsors vying for the same patients in clinical trials has reached a tipping point. More than 20 major biopharmaceutical companies and CROs have been working towards participation in the Referral Plus™ initiative where each company has agreed to "share" their enrolling studies with each other and refer participants who disqualify from their own studies to other participating member studies using an automated geo-therapeutic matching algorithm.

"We know only 5% of participants who respond to a recruitment ad will enroll into the study they applied to – for a number of reasons (geography, inclusion/exclusion restrictions, medications, etc.).   Through the ReferralPlus™ geo-therapeutic matching algorithm, we can automatically match the 95% of participants who disqualified for one study into other studies they might qualify for and be interested in.    Similar to how Open Table matches diners to the closest restaurant that meets their interests," stated Lisa La Luna, Sr. Vice President at ePharmaSolutions. 

In a pilot completed at a sponsor compound level across 3 studies, the patient triaging concept was able to save the sponsor $800,000 and bring the cost per patient from over $6,000 to $700 per randomized subject.   It also reduced recruitment cycle times by 3.5 months. 

An industry wide screening and triaging process is a ground breaking concept in patient recruitment and ePharmaSolutions is proud to announce that the first studies have been launched and are actively referring patients.  The success of the pilot will be measured by the number of candidates that are screened and referred from one Sponsored trial to another.  The results of the initial pilot are expected to be announced Q1-2014. 

While more traditional methods of recruiting patients continue to be implemented, ePharmaSolutions continually looks for the most innovative and cost-effective ways to support patient enrollment for clinical trials.

About ePharmaSolutions

ePharmaSolutions is a leading provider of niche clinical services and eClinical solutions that help improve the way trial sites are selected, trained, activated and managed to exceed enrollment goals. ePharmaSolutions has won multiple Bio-IT World Award for best clinical trial technology and has activated and trained more than 300,000 clinical researchers in 130 countries for the top 20 pharmaceutical companies and CROs in the world. ePharmaSolutions is headquartered in Philadelphia with offices in Slough, UK.

For more information visit us at www.epharmasolutions.com, please contact Lisa La Luna at [email protected]

SOURCE ePharmaSolutions