Clinical research, from patient access to site growth.
Our teams help research sites and networks find patients, win studies, and run them well. We also help physician practices join research the right way.
of investigative sites activate and begin enrolling.
Tufts CSDDof physicians and nurses actively refer patients to trials.
Tufts CSDD surveylonger study startup timelines than a decade ago.
Tufts CSDDapproximate daily cost of running a Phase III trial.
Tufts CSDD, 2024How investigative sites perform against enrollment targets
Across nearly 16,000 sites in 151 Phase II and III trials, almost half of the sites selected either enrolled nobody or fell short.
Source: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
From screened to completed
Across therapeutic areas, about half of all patients screened go on to complete a trial, which is why the top of the funnel has to be full.
Source: Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
Find the patients. Win the studies. Run them well.
Four teams working from one plan across the life of a site.
Recruitment that starts in the community.
The patients a site needs are already seeing a physician somewhere nearby. Our enrollment team builds the referral relationships, outreach, and pre-screening that bring them in.
- 01Referral networksCommunity practices connected to the studies a site is running.
- 02Community outreachPrograms built around the populations a site serves.
- 03Pre-screeningQualified candidates handed to coordinators, not raw leads.
Four teams across the life of a site.
Patient access, business development, operations, and investigator networks, working from the same plan.
Patient access and enrollment
Recruitment built around the community a site serves, from outreach and referral networks to pre-screening and retention.
- Recruitment strategy
- Community outreach
- Pre-screening
Business development
Positioning sites with sponsors and CROs, answering feasibility well, and building a pipeline of studies that fits the site.
- Sponsors and CROs
- Feasibility
- Study pipeline
Site operations
Startup, staffing, training, and SOPs that hold up to monitoring visits and keep studies moving on timeline.
- Startup
- Staffing
- Quality
Investigator networks
Principal and sub-investigators sourced from our provider network and matched to what a site is enrolling.
- PI sourcing
- Referral partners
- Embedded sites
What an idle site costs
A study that runs 30 months at a site that enrolls a single patient.
Source: Phesi, based on typical site activation and management costs
Where a new site's first year goes
The milestones our teams plan against, from the first feasibility question to steady enrollment.
Timelines are typical ranges and vary by therapeutic area and sponsor.
How practices and sites work together.
Four models, from a simple referral relationship to a full acquisition, each scoped to what both sides can support.
Referral partnership
Community practices refer qualified patients into a site's active studies.
Investigator engagement
Physicians join a site as principal or sub-investigators on studies matched to their specialty.
Embedded site
Research operations run inside an existing practice, staffed and supported by the site partner.
Acquisition
Sites and practices identified, introduced, and prepared for acquisition by growing networks.
The patients a site needs are already in a waiting room nearby.Northstra Health clinical research
Operations that hold up to a monitoring visit.
Startup, staffing, training, and SOPs that keep studies on timeline and keep sponsors coming back.
- 01StartupRegulatory packets, budgets, and contracts moved on schedule.
- 02Staffing and trainingCoordinators hired and trained to the protocol.
- 03QualitySOPs and documentation ready for monitoring and inspection.
From our clinical research practice.
How we think about enrollment and site economics.
Enrollment is a community problem before it is a marketing problem.
Very few physicians and nurses ever refer a patient to a trial. Sites that enroll well build referral relationships with the practices their patients already trust.
Every idle site has a cost.
A site that never enrolls still has to be activated, monitored, and managed for the life of the study. Feasibility is the cheapest place to find that out.
Grow the site you are building.
Whether the need is patients, studies, investigators, or operations, start with a conversation.