Resources & Training

SCRS & Syneos Health Unveil New Diversity Award for Clinical Research Sites

July 31, 2023 Press

July 31, 2023 — The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) has announced the launch of its new Global Site Excellence in Diversity Award to recognize and celebrate the exceptional efforts made by clinical research sites in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within clinical trials. Syneos Health® (Nasdaq:SYNH), a leading fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization and SCRS Global Impact Partner, is proudly sponsoring the award as part of its commitment to fostering equitable access to clinical trials.

The award is open to SCRS site members globally and will evaluate initiatives such as culturally tailored outreach, community partnerships, educational programs, and recruitment strategies that prioritize diversity and inclusion.

“At Syneos Health, we are unwavering about our organizational commitment to Diversity By Design™, our integrated approach to improve equitable opportunities across the clinical to commercial continuum through education, awareness, and access,“ said Batisha Anson, Global Head of Patient Diversity & Equity, Syneos Health. “We are proud to partner with SCRS to introduce this novel award that recognizes sites that share both organizations’ dedication to incorporating patient diversity into standard practices to improve scientific knowledge and health equity.”

“SCRS is honored to work with Syneos Health to launch this award recognizing the outstanding work of clinical research sites in engaging underrepresented communities,” said Jackie Kent, Vice President of Diversity & Special Projects, SCRS. “By supporting sites that are champions for diverse, equitable and inclusive recruitment, we can collectively address barriers faced by underrepresented populations in clinical research. This award will serve as a testament to sites’ outstanding achievements, enabling solutions for excellence in patient care and diversity initiatives within the healthcare industry. We look forward to seeing the innovative programs developed by sites that are setting an example in this space.”

Nominations for the Global Site Excellence in Diversity Award are open from July 31-September 8, 2023. The judging panel, consisting of SCRS Diversity Awareness Program committee members, will evaluate the submissions and select the award recipient. The recipient will be announced at the SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit, which will take place in Hollywood, Florida from October 6-8, 2023.

For more information on the Global Site Excellence in Diversity Award, including submission guidelines and eligibility criteria, please visit the Global Site Solutions Summit website.

About the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS)

The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) is the leading advocacy organization dedicated to unifying the voice of the global clinical research site community. Representing more than 10,000 sites in 47 countries, SCRS facilitates industry collaborations and conversations dedicated to site-focused advocacy, education, mentorship and connection. SCRS is an active and influential champion for sites in industry initiatives to ensure that the perspective of sites is heard and valued. Learn more and get involved at myscrs-new.local/. Our voice. Our community. Your success.

About Syneos Health
Syneos Health^® (Nasdaq:SYNH) is a leading fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization built to accelerate customer success. We translate unique clinical, medical affairs and commercial insights into outcomes to address modern market realities.

We bring together a talented team of professionals, who work across more than 110 countries, with a deep understanding of patient and physician behaviors and market dynamics.

Together we share insights, use the latest technologies and apply advanced business practices to speed our customers’ delivery of important therapies to patients.

Syneos Health supports a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture that cares for colleagues, customers, patients, communities and the environment.

To learn more about how we are Shortening the distance from lab to life®, visit syneoshealth.com or subscribe to our podcast.

SCRS Eagle Award Voting Now Open

July 10, 2023 – The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS), a leading global organization dedicated to representing the voice of the clinical research site community, has opened voting for the SCRS Eagle Award. This award recognizes a sponsor and CRO that demonstrates outstanding leadership, professionalism, integrity, operational excellence, and strong site partnerships. Since 2009, the Eagle Award has celebrated the importance of site success within clinical research. Last year, the SCRS Eagle Award recognized Merck and PPD, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, as the respective sponsor and clinical research organization (CRO) recipient. Selection criteria include site and patient input, communication, payment frequency, fair contract practices, technology approach, diversity and ongoing business partnership. “Sites are resilient resources for both the participants they serve and the study outcomes they drive forward. The Eagle Award honors industry partners who value the balance that sites manage on a daily basis, providing care while managing challenging clinical study operations,” said Sean Soth, SVP of Strategy & Global Business Partnerships, SCRS. “This coveted award foremost recognizes that sites are stakeholders in the clinical research ecosystem and serves as a celebration of the organizations that work to enhance the quality of clinical trials through site collaboration. We encourage all sites to vote with their voice and experience for the organizations that demonstrate great site partnership.” Votes for the SCRS Eagle Award can be submitted online through the SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit website from July 10 through August 26, 2023. Any clinical research site employee will have the opportunity to choose one sponsor and CRO that has exemplified the SCRS Eagle Award attributes within the past 12 months. The recipients of the SCRS Eagle Award will be announced at the SCRS Eagle Award Gala & Awards Dinner, sponsored by Advarra, at the 2023 Global Site Solutions Summit taking place October 6-8, 2023 in Hollywood, Florida. About The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS)Founded in 2012, SCRS is a global organization that unifies the voice of the clinical research site community to create greater site sustainability. Representing more than 10,000 sites in 47 countries, SCRS membership provides sites with a community dedicated to advocacy, education, mentorship and connectivity. SCRS is an influential voice for sites and an active partner in industry-wide initiatives and dialogues focused on improving the clinical research enterprise. Our Voice. Our Community. Your Success. Join the community. Visit myscrs-new.local/.

SCRS Public Policy Program Comments on FDA Decentralized Trials Draft Guidance

SCRS comments on the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) 2023 Draft Guidance: “Decentralized Clinical Trials for Drugs, Biological Products, and Devices Guidance for Industry, Investigators, and Other Stakeholders” First, we applaud the FDA for preparing this guidance and its intent to foster the extension of the traditional research site via various mechanisms. It’s vital that the industry enables patients to have increased access to the necessary items and services required to successfully enter and complete clinical trials. We concur that there are proper ways to extend a clinical trial site/investigators’ traditional “brick and mortar” model to one that can be extended by technology, mobile research staff and healthcare providers that are more proximal to the patient at their time of need. Although it challenges the traditional business model of the site industry, the SCRS Site Landscape Survey results indicated that sites are participating in these kinds of studies in a post-COVID environment, the top two reasons being “would be beneficial to the participant” and “desire to bring my site into the future”. While we see the investigator/site industry as concurring with the purpose of this draft guidance and with many of the FDA’s recommendations herein, certain components of the current draft are having the opposite of the intended effect. Some components codify several systems and gaps that are known to contribute to investigators/sites’ unwillingness to facilitate decentralized components due to fear of regulatory retribution. Herein we take the approach of highlighting key issues we believe the FDA should address in this guidance to accomplish our shared goal. We cannot emphasize enough that the erosion of site/investigator oversight and the expected regulatory consequences have a negative effect on the adoption of decentralized/hybrid trials. Based on the 2023 SCRS Site Landscape Survey, overwhelmingly the sites’ answer to the question “what have you experienced to be the biggest challenges for your site in participating in decentralized trials” was “oversight of remote vendors that would interact with the patient, record source data”. For sites that refused to conduct trials with the added decentralized components, the second and third most common reasons cited were “not comfortable with this type of trial” and “lack of understanding on how the trial would operationalize”. The great majority of our comments relate to this theme of the site/investigator’s eroding control over the operation of the clinical trial, coupled with the reiteration that they remain ultimately responsible from a regulatory perspective. Thank you to our project contributors: Lisa Bjornestad, DM Clinical Research Daniel Fox, Clinical Research Payment Network Christie Fry, AbbVie Nadege Gunn, Impact Research Institute Kathleen McNaughton, Mayo Clinic Lindsey Morales, Gilead Sciences Debra Rogge, AstraZeneca Shivani Shah, DM Clinical Research David Vulcano, HCA Healthcare & SCRS Scott Whitt, Triad Clinical Trials Jennine Zumbuhl, Dignity Health

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