Resources & Training

Velocity Clinical Research Earns 2023 Excellence in Patient Centricity Award

October 10, 2023 Press

October 10, 2023 – Today the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2023 Excellence in Patient Centricity Award, Velocity Clinical Research. The award, sponsored in 2023 by Sanofi, celebrates a clinical research site that places patient experience at the center of its operations.

Velocity Clinical Research demonstrated a strong commitment to patient-centricity and engagement in clinical trials through several innovative initiatives. They established a Patient Advisory Committee (PAC) comprised of diverse clinical trial participants who offer valuable feedback, sharing these insights publicly to improve patient engagement across the industry.

Velocity has also prioritized health equity by addressing disparities in clinical research participation by utilizing culturally tailored materials, including resources in Spanish, to ensure inclusivity and accessibility. Velocity also focuses on a diverse workforce to better understand and meet the needs of various communities. Their #VelocityCares program provides employees with cash stipends to donate to charities and engage in spontaneous giving, fostering community support.

Nick Spittal, COO of Velocity Clinical Research, commented, “This recognition reaffirms our commitment to putting patients at the heart of everything we do. I’m proud of our entire global team for their embrace of the Velocity core value of ‘care’, working tirelessly to ensure that every participant in a Velocity clinical trial has an exceptional experience. Thank you also to the research volunteers who are essential to the advancement of new therapeutics. We will continue to strive for excellence in delivering innovative and compassionate solutions for the benefit of research participants and their caregivers.”

Jimmy Bechtel, SCRS Vice President of Site Engagement, shared, “The Excellence in Patient Centricity award celebrates those who don’t just talk the talk but walk the walk when it comes to patient-centricity. Velocity Clinical Research exemplifies this commitment by consistently putting patients at the heart of their work. SCRS proudly applauds the Velocity team for their industry-leading initiatives that have transformed the patient journey into a seamless experience from start to finish. Their forward-thinking, community-focused programs have set a precedent for the industry, and SCRS is thrilled to recognize and celebrate their unwavering dedication to enhancing the patient experience.”

Vicky DiBiaso, Head of Patient Informed Development & Health Value Translation, added, “Sanofi is once again proud to sponsor the annual SCRS Excellence in Patient Centricity Award. We founded this award because we feel a deep appreciation for trial sites, and the pivotal role they play in making clinical research a positive experience, and one that is obtainable to individuals traditionally under-represented. Being able to thank sites going above and beyond is a privilege!”

For more information about the Excellence in Patient Centricity Award and the SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit, visit sitesolutionssummit.com.

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.

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

SCRS Recognizes Merck and Parexel as 2023 Eagle Award Recipients

October 12, 2023 – The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS), the trade organization representing global clinical research sites, is pleased to announce the 2023 recipients of the prestigious SCRS Eagle Award: Merck as the sponsor recipient and Parexel as the CRO recipient. Andy Lee, Senior Vice President and Head, Global Clinical Trial Operations at Merck, shared, “Clinical Research is the foundation for developing new therapies for patients. Without dedicated research sites and staff, we are unable to achieve our societal goals. On behalf of all Sponsors, and particularly Merck, we dedicate this award to all of the patients, sites, staff, IRBs, partners, nurses, CRAs and so many others who work tirelessly to meet our collective goals. We all work together to ensure that ‘No Patient Is Left Behind’ – thank you!” “We are deeply honored to receive this year’s SCRS Eagle Award,” said Teri Karcher, PhD, Executive Vice President, Head of Launch Excellence and Chief Drug Development Officer, Parexel. “Our unwavering commitment to and collaboration with sites is instrumental in our efforts to keep patients at the heart of everything we do. We look forward to our continued work together to improve the clinical research process for the benefit of patients around the world.” Since 2009, the Eagle Award has celebrated outstanding leadership, professionalism, integrity, passion and dedication to advancing clinical research through strong site partnerships. Award selection criteria included willingness to collaborate on protocol design and execution, availability of staff to support sites, responsive communication, and fair contracting, budgeting, and payment schedules. The clinical research site community globally ranked companies they had worked with in the past year that they felt exemplified these characteristics. The sponsor and CRO recipients were selected based on the overall number of votes cast by the global site community. “Consistently listening and working to meet the needs of clinical research sites are truly the core attributes of the SCRS Eagle Award. With nearly 2,500 sites globally participating in the voting process, SCRS is pleased to present this year’s Eagle Award to Merck, as the sponsor recipient and to Parexel as the CRO recipient for 2023,” says Sean Soth, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships at SCRS. “SCRS and the site community will continue to collaborate with industry on improving the clinical enterprise and appreciate the intentionality the Eagle Award recipients place into site sustainability. Congratulations to Merck and Parexel and to every site working to advance clinical research.” “Facilitating collaboration between sites, CROs, and sponsors to accelerate research is at the core of what we do at Advarra, and we are thrilled to partner with SCRS to present the Eagle Award,” said Elisa Cascade, Chief Product Officer at Advarra. “We know that technology can facilitate stakeholder collaboration in research to improve speed, compliance, and transparency, but the key question is at what cost and level of burden to our sites? Advarra applauds this year’s Eagle Award nominees and winners for their site-centric approach. The industry has made great strides towards simplifying the experience of sites, in parallel to sponsors, CROs, and patients, and we look forward to enabling even greater collaboration in the year ahead.” The awards were presented at the SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit Eagle Award Gala & Awards Dinner, sponsored by Advarra. Learn more about the Global Site Solutions Summit and Eagle Award at sitesolutionssummit.com. 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.

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