This International Clinical Trials Day, we’re taking a moment to pause and reflect on some of the ongoing efforts to advance clinical trials. It’s also an opportunity for us to formally say ‘thank you’ to everyone in the community who continues to #KeepTrialsMoving.
Clinical trials play an essential role in medical research advancement, offer access to innovative treatments, and create important jobs. In today’s shifting geopolitical climate, the clinical trials community in Ontario and Canada is in a position to lead globally. Together, we are continuing to grow, improve, and make clinical trials better and more accessible across the country.
To celebrate these successes, we’ve reached out to people who bring different perspectives and advances to trials. We’ve asked them to share their reflections, thoughts and hopes with you here.
Building better trials
It takes a village, as the quote goes. In the past decade, we’ve seen tremendous progress related to building better trials. That progress may be related to: modernizing regulations, creating efficiencies through streamlined efforts, engaging new perspectives on clinical trials teams, collecting more inclusive demographic data to better understand how therapies work, and more.
In the words of some people in the clinical trials community, where do these efforts take us next to #KeepTrialsMoving?
“As a rare disease patient whose life has been transformed by two clinical trials, I applaud the long overdue recognition that we can only #KeepTrialsMoving by partnering with deeply committed patients and families who bring their lived experience expertise to how trials are designed, how outcomes are measured, recruitment, and making trials accessible to underserved populations.” – Maureen Smith, Patient Partner
“I am encouraged to see that we #KeepTrialsMoving towards inclusion for 2SLGBTQI+ communities. I’ve seen promising examples like adapting eligibility language to make trials more welcoming and equitable for queer and trans people. Often these changes are subtle (e.g., shifting from “Women with breast cancer”, to: “People with breast cancer”). These seemingly small changes can have a big impact on a trans or non-binary person considering a trial. Broadening participation not only leads to more robust trial results but helps rebuild essential trust in research.” – Kim Meeking, Co-Lead, Queering Cancer
“Clinical trials are becoming more complex, demanding greater time, investment, and expertise. From cross-Canada streamlining efforts like CanReview’s single research ethics review system, to local efforts like QuickSTART and many others, we are modernizing the trials ecosystem to #KeepTrialsMoving. The outcome is more global trials choosing to come to Canada, and more access to those trials for Canadians. These efforts are a huge win for patients, researchers and the life sciences economy in Canada.” – Susan Marlin, President & CEO, Clinical Trials Ontario and Nominated Principal Applicant, CanReview
“We are working to build “soft” infrastructure, like contracts and ethics approvals, that are as innovative and efficient as the trials our researchers are designing. Building these unified governing agreements puts Canadian institutions a step above other countries and gives Canadians access to better trials, faster.” – Jennifer Cox, Legal Counsel & Director, Research Contracts, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
“We need to take a risk-based, pragmatic approach to streamlining efforts. Take the Ontario Universal Agreement for Clinical Trials (UACT) for example. There’s often a tendency to focus on minor details, but those shouldn’t outweigh the broader goal of improving efficiency and accelerating trial activation. At Bayer, we approached the UACT with the mindset that while the language may not be perfect for us, it is more than sufficient to drive meaningful progress. That’s what we really need in Canada, and that’s the perspective I would encourage others to take.” – Monisha Nundy, National Operations Strategist, Bayer
Bringing trials to participants
We live in a world that is profoundly affected by technology and where information is at fingertips like never before. People are interested in trials as options – no matter where they are located. They are finding information about clinical trials in a variety of ways, sometimes through their healthcare teams, on their own, among some options. Technology can help or can be exclusionary if we’re not mindful. The pandemic has also helped show us new possibilities relating to how people may participate in clinical trials.
In the words of some members of the clinical trials community, how do efforts to bring trials to potential participants #KeepTrialsMoving?
“Through SCAGO’s [Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario’s] continued efforts—including our Learning for Life sessions on clinical trials and collaborations with clinical trial sites—we are making meaningful progress in ensuring the sickle cell community has access to clear, trustworthy information. This empowers individuals to make informed decisions about participation. Our goal is to build on this momentum by continuing to bring both knowledge and opportunities closer to patients, enabling them to confidently engage in research that shapes their care.” – Lanre Tunji-Ajayi, M.S.M, President and CEO, Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario (SCAGO)
“Cancer Trials Canada is a significant step toward bringing clinical trials closer to people affected by cancer – making it easier to find clear, up-to-date, bilingual information about trials happening across the country. By easing the challenge of searching for trials at an already overwhelming time, the Cancer Trials Canada website helps patients and their care teams have more informed conversations about trial participation.” – Tracy Torchetti, VP Cancer Information and Policy, Canadian Cancer Society, and Lucie D’Amours, General Manager, Quebec-Clinical Research Organization in Cancer
“Community hospitals serve the majority of Canadians, including populations that may differ meaningfully from those typically enrolled in academic-centre trials. Bringing clinical trials to community hospitals means that patients can participate in research closer to home, and that is a meaningful step toward ensuring that the evidence informing clinical practice better reflects the diverse communities it is meant to serve.” – Dr. Jennifer Tsang, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Canadian Community ICU Research Network; Executive Director and Chief Scientist, Niagara Health Knowledge Institute; Associate Professor of Medicine, McMaster University
“CRAFT [Canadian Remote Access Framework for Clinical Trials] is an important step forward in making clinical trials more accessible to patients across Canada. By reducing geographic barriers and bringing more trial activities closer to home, it helps ensure that where a patient lives does not determine whether they can take part in cutting-edge research. The leadership of 3CTN and CCTG in implementing, evaluating and continuing to strengthen this framework is helping build a more equitable future for trial access.” – Dr. Janet Dancey, MD, FRCPC, Chair, Canadian Cancer Trials Group
Closing thoughts
It is an exciting time for clinical trials in Ontario and across Canada. Transformational change isn’t easy, but our opportunities to innovate, collaborate, and make a meaningful difference for patients continue to grow. We hope the insights shared in this article have sparked reflection on your own important contributions to Canada’s trials community.
Above all, we extend our sincere thanks to everyone involved in clinical trials, as we collectively work to #KeepTrialsMoving.