The Workshop

Patient recruitment and retention in CNS clinical trials

Thursday 4 June 2009, Brussels, Belgium

It is widely accepted that patient recruitment is the rate-limiting step of any clinical trial. However the Central Nervous System (CNS) is an even more complex therapeutic area with additional issues such as gaining informed consent of older patients or recruiting mentally unstable subjects. To stay ahead in a competitive market, changes must be continually made to develop present strategies in order to streamline current patient recruitment procedures. This workshop aims to to discuss strategies to recruit the right patients and retain them throughout investigation based on patient opinions, needs and experiences.

Sanofi-Aventis is a leading global pharmaceutical company that provides a broad offer of medicines, vaccines, and integrated healthcare solutions in several therapeutic areas including especially the central nervous system disorders. Its three major drugs developed so far are Copaxone® (glatiramer acetate) a disease-modifying drug for multiple sclerosis, Depakine® (sodium valproate) that remains a reference treatment for epilepsy worldwide, and Stilnox® (zolpidem tartrate) the leading hypnotic worldwide that is indicated in the short-term treatment of insomnia. To develop its drugs, Sanofi-Aventis conducts clinical trials worldwide in compliance with the most stringent Good Clinical Practices (GCP) regulations. In 2007, several hundred clinical trials were conducted throughout 60 countries and in more than 8,500 sites. www.sanofi-aventis.com

Workshop agenda

Registration and coffee

Gaining informed consent of older patients in CNS clinical trials

• Clarifying decision making and cognitive performance definitions
• Highlighting the benefits of gaining informed consent of older patients for recruitment and retention
• Effectively assessing decision making capacity in a clinical trial setting

Optimising your research site selection and evaluation

• Finding the best locations to suit your needs
• Effective strategies to evaluate site and resource requirements
• Winning methods for improving your on-site pre and post-trial monitoring

Morning refreshments

Improving public perceptions of clinical research studies

• Implementing the best methods for public communication and public references
• Identifying and overcoming the influential factors and decisions that affect participation rates
• Analysing the reasons for patient participation and effectively highlighting the benefits

Ensuring retention of patients in clinical trials

• Producing educational/support study material for patients and investigators
• Effectively improving motivation and communication between patients and staff
• Showing appreciation to clinical study volunteers
  

Close of workshop