SCOPE Summit Panel: Elevate Your Relationship with Sites to Become a Sponsor of Choice

The clinical trial industry has experienced a surge in activity in recent years, and as a result, sponsors are looking for ways to stand out in a highly competitive environment. Being the sponsor of choice has become a top priority for 65% of pharma companies, compared to only 14% in 2019, according to industry polls.

A recent SCOPE Summit panel hosted by Mike Wenger, founder and CEO of VersaTrial, brought together a diverse group of industry experts to discuss how sponsors and sites can work together to achieve success. The panel included Stephanie Ailey from Velocity, Jimmy Bechtel from SCRS, and Chris Fleischmann from Jazz Pharmaceuticals. 

Importance of Building Strong Sponsor-Site Relationships

Chris Fleischmann, who leads the Global Patient & Site Engagement group at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, emphasized the importance of building strong and long-lasting relationships with sites. "Relationships that are not just transient. We want a relationship that's continuous throughout the development of our molecules," he said. Fleischmann emphasized that having a strong relationship with a site can reduce start-up timelines, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals measures success by continuously engaging with sites to maintain a high-quality relationship.

Stephanie Ailey, VP of Business Development from Meridian (now part of Velocity Clinical Research), added that building strong partnerships and having transparent conversations are key to success. She said, “our strongest [Sponsor] partnerships are those who are transparent with us, as quickly as possible and as efficiently as possible, and we're transparent with them.” 

Ailey believes that having one person on the Sponsor side who is strategically aligned with the site is essential. “We really like to be aligned strategically with a partner, someone who comes to us, who's assigned to us, who I'm assigned to,” she said. “We have open conversations regularly, so that we know what we should be planning for.”

Breaking the Taboo: Why Transparency is Key to Strong Partnerships

For research sites there has been a tendency to hide any problems from sponsors for fear of losing their trust and potential future studies, but Ailey’s team has found that being transparent about struggles with sponsors and working collaboratively with them leads to better problem-solving and a stronger partnership. “If we have those transparent conversations we can work together to find you a plan,” she added. “Or we overcome something that's in your other sites, and you can take that back to them. We're a collaborative partnership, and that's how we would like to work.” 

Apart from having strong relationships and communication, sponsors must also ensure that their technology systems are working to avoid any delays for sites and patients. According to Ailey, "just making sure all of your platforms are working, and they're efficient, and they make sense, that would be the greatest thing I could ask any of you."

Ailey has valid concerns about the use of technology in clinical research. According to a survey conducted by the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS), 60% of sites use 20 or more systems on a daily basis. Our own site conversations at VersaTrial have revealed that Research Coordinators typically use 10 different technologies per study. As a result, the burden of organizing and keeping track of all these websites is significant and time-consuming.

Overcoming Bureaucracy: the Need for Cultural Shifts in Clinical Research

Jimmy Bechtel, Senior Director of Site Engagement from the Society for Research Sites (SCRS), has a unique perspective, as his organization is positioned between sites and sponsors. Bechtel sees more Sponsors and CROs investing in creating site partnership and engagement teams, but there are barriers within the organization that prevent these teams from making the necessary changes to achieve their goals.

"What we see is the challenge becoming when people like Chris' team say, 'We need to make these changes.' Well, there are all these 'no's, all these checkboxes that get in the way, all this bureaucracy that piles up behind them. They're met with all this adversity from people who don't know what it's like to work at a site and don't get it," Bechtel said.

He recommended granting more autonomy and power to those teams to initiate a necessary cultural shift by enabling them to effect change within the organization.

Success in a Competitive Market: Meeting Site Needs

The COVID-19 pandemic has also created challenges for the industry, and the issue of turnover has become a significant problem. Sites are being pickier than ever with the trials they take on, and pharma companies are going to have to step up their game to help these sites. Bechtel believes that the key to success is to focus on what the sites need and to provide them with the support they require. “Sponsors and CROs are really going to have to step up their game when it comes to what they're doing to help these sites,” he said. “Using some of these tactics that my colleagues here mentioned, and implementing those on their clinical trials. So that you can continue to work with the sites that you want to work with.”

Becoming the “Sponsor of Choice” is an increasingly important priority for sponsors. To achieve this goal, sponsors must prioritize building strong and long-lasting relationships with their sites, ensure open and transparent communication, break down internal barriers preventing change, and support sites by providing efficient systems and resources. By doing so, sponsors can gain a competitive advantage and ensure the success of their clinical trials.