Selecting the right Contract Research Organization (CRO) is a critical decision for any pharmaceutical, biotech, or healthcare company. While the focus is frequently on the clinical operations components, the success of a clinical trial can hinge on the reliability and accuracy of the biometrics activities: data collection, management, and reporting. To support your best outcome, here are five key data-related items to consider when making your CRO selection decision.
1. Expertise and Experience: When evaluating a CRO, consider its expertise in biometrics services, not just clinical operations. Look to understand what relevant experience the CRO has in your specific therapeutic area, including similar size projects. Take the time to assess both the industry and company tenure of the functional leads who will work on your project. You can also ask about case studies to learn more about the CRO’s previous successes and how it addresses and learns from challenges.
2. Data Collection and Integration: Efficient data collection and integration are vital to your ability to monitor patient safety, as well as data quality and completeness throughout your trial. Choose a CRO with an EDC system that supports your trial’s needs and that has experience in integrating data from various sources, such as external eConsent platforms, central laboratories, or ePRO platforms. The ability to aggregate, manage, reconcile, and review data from disparate sources can improve safety monitoring while significantly reducing errors and streamlining critical reporting timelines.
3. Quality Assurance and Monitoring: A CRO should have well-established quality assurance and data monitoring processes in place across the entirety of biometrics These should include regular data review cycles, tools to support communication around monitoring visits and data issues between CRAs and data managers, access to data quality metrics, and support for risk-based monitoring that include risk-based data management approaches. Look to understand the systems the CRO has in place and how it reports quality and status throughout the trial.
4. Flexibility and Customization: Every clinical trial has its own unique pain points and complexities, especially when working in novel disease spaces. Assess a CRO on its ability to tailor its biometrics services to support your trial and its needs. Ask for examples of how the CRO accommodates specific study designs, data formats, and reporting requirements. Be sure to understand how the CRO approaches mid-study updates to EDCs and other systems. A CRO with systems that can easily adapt to changing project needs and offer customized solutions will reduce data-related challenges during your trial.
5. Customized Reporting and Communication: Effective communication and tailored reporting are fundamental to a successful partnership with a CRO. Assess the CRO’s communication channels, data management tools, and standard reports. Understand if these are sufficient or if the CRO will adapt its standards and frequency to meet your needs. This is a helpful way to assess if the CRO values your input and will actively collaborate to reach the best outcomes. Reports and tools should provide you with clear, concise, and actionable information across the biometrics services to support your decision making at every stage of the trial.
When choosing a CRO, careful consideration of its biometrics services delivery model is essential. By taking the time to evaluate and understand the CRO’s data handling, reporting, and communication approaches, you can make a more informed decision and select a partner who will focus on data integrity, ensuring your data is in fully capable hands.