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Clinical trials begin with an idea in a lab, with the goal of creating an FDA-approved treatment or device for the public. However, this process doesn’t happen overnight. While certain emergency situations require more swift action, here’s a closer look at how long the average clinical trial journey lasts.

Patient recruitment in clinical trials has a reputation for taking a long time and slowing down research. However, with the right patient recruitment strategies, enrolling patients doesn’t have to halt your trial’s progress. Below, you’ll find four strategies used by clinical trial patient recruitment companies to reach the “unreachable patient.”

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Current treatment can slow the progression of the disease and ease symptoms, but MS researchers are actively looking for a cure.

Receiving a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis can be a very emotional event. Some individuals might experience a sense of relief in finally discovering the reasons behind their mysterious symptoms, while others might feel scared and isolated. Regardless, it’s important for loved ones to help newly-diagnosed patients through the journey. 

Sponsors advertise clinical trials online by working with a clinical trial recruitment company that places IRB-approved outreach materials on channels such as Facebook and Google Ads. Each of these channels has its own guidelines that advertisers must follow in order for ads to be approved. 

Should your nonprofit try a new digital channel for your ads in 2020? In a recent webinar, Antidote’s Digital Marketing Manager, David Tindell, discussed ways to approach platforms beyond Facebook, from Twitter and Spotify to Quora, Outbrain, and other lesser-known advertising mediums. 

Can we apply customer service models to healthcare? And what would that mean for clinical trial patient recruitment? 

Being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) can feel overwhelming and isolating. It's true that the neurodegenerative disease involves challenging symptoms, but knowing what to expect and how to tap into available resources can help. 

Diane Kramer first noticed tingling and numbness in various parts of her body in 2000, but it wasn’t until 2010, when she began suffering from cluster headaches and lost all feeling on the left side of her body, that she went to speak with her primary care doctor. Diane, then a nurse, was immediately sent for an MRI which confirmed her diagnosis: Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS).

Every clinical trial planning process hits bumps in the road now and then, but a few common clinical trial recruitment challenges consistently slow the research process and keep new treatments out of patient hands. The solutions to the most common challenges aren’t necessarily simple, but they do start from the most important place – the patient perspective.