The Changing Face of Trial Recruitment: Site-Only and Recruitment Provider Options

Competition within the drug development industry continues to intensify and competing for clinical investigators and trial recruitment is no exception. While pharma and biotech companies invest heavily in marketing approved drugs, they often do not employ that same market research and marketing expertise when it comes to targeting, positioning and communicating the value of clinical trials to study sites and patients.

The research data underscores the high stakes and urgent need for companies to improve the clinical trial process. Effective communications can result in better selected study sites and drive trial recruitment and patient retention, saving time and money in clinical trials.

Register for this webinar to learn:

• The pros and cons of a local recruitment model through a site network.
• How a solid patient recruitment database can help find the right patients faster.
• The benefits of integrated site and patient recruitment offerings and when they work best.
• How various recruitment options work to ensure diverse representation in trials.
• If some therapeutic areas are better suited to the various recruitment options available.

Speakers

Dr. Torsten Sernau, MD, Vice President, Medical Strategy, Accelerated Enrollment Solutions (AES)

With more than 25 years of experience in the R&D industry, Dr. Torsten Sernau leads the global Medical & Therapeutic Strategy Group for AES. A medical doctor by training, he worked as a physician in the University Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany before joining the pharmaceutical industry in 1995. He has held various positions of leadership in drug development, medical marketing, project management, late phase research and commercialization. Torsten joined the PPD enterprise in 2001 after six years in Hoffmann LaRoche in Basel. Most recently, Torsten led the AES Commercial Strategy Group before he took over the global leadership role for AES Medical Strategies in 2021.

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Dr. Riaan van Tonder, Vice President, Site Network, Accelerated Enrollment Solutions (AES)

Dr. Riaan van Tonder leads the AES Site Network of 160 clinical research sites globally and the site team professionals. A medical doctor by training, Riaan worked in the public and private health sectors in both South Africa and the United Kingdom before joining the pharmaceutical industry in 2007. He held various positions of leadership in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries before joining AES in 2016. Riaan holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) degree from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, a diploma in obstetrics from the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa and a master’s degree in business leadership from the University of South Africa.

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Michael Stratton, MBA, Executive Director, Patient Recruitment Operations, Sites and Patients Center of Excellence, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), part of Thermo Fisher Scientific

Michael Stratton currently heads global patient recruitment operations at PPD. He has over 10 years of experience in the life sciences sector, primarily focused on patient recruitment. He previously served as senior director of global marketing operations; senior director, global contact center; senior director of marketing finance and business partnerships; and director of operations finance at AES. He earned an MBA from Holy Family University and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Peirce College, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Kenneth Getz, Executive Director & Professor, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, Tufts University School of Medicine

Ken Getz is the Executive Director and a professor at the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, Tufts University School of Medicine, where he conducts grant-funded research on pharmaceutical R&D management and execution; protocol design optimization; contract service provider and investigative site management; e-clinical technology and data usage; and patient engagement.  He is the chairman of CISCRP – a nonprofit organization that he founded to educate and raise public and patient awareness of the clinical research enterprise.  A well-known speaker at conferences, symposia, universities, investor meetings and corporations, Ken has published extensively in peer-review journals, books and in the trade press and writes a bi-monthly column nominated for a Neal Award in Applied Clinical Trials. He holds a number of board appointments in the private and public sectors and serves on the editorial boards of Pharmaceutical Medicine and Therapeutic Innovation and Regulatory Science.  Ken received an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from Brandeis University.  He is the founder of CenterWatch, a leading publisher in the clinical trials industry, and one of several businesses that he has created and sold.

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