DPHARM and the next era of clinical research delivery

Innovation has been a constant theme in clinical research for many years. But attending DPHARM this year, I was struck by how much the conversation has moved on.

There was noticeably less focus on innovation for innovation’s sake, and much more discussion about practical solutions that can genuinely improve how trials are designed and delivered.

That was also reflected in the conversations at Partnership with Sites. Across both events, there was a growing recognition that many of the challenges facing clinical research are well understood. The opportunity now is to simplify how we work, implement new approaches effectively and, importantly, demonstrate that they make a measurable difference.

Simplifying the process

For me, simplification was one of the clearest themes at DPHARM.

Sponsors are looking hard at how they can reduce complexity, remove unnecessary process and oversight, and ultimately deliver studies faster and more efficiently.

That feels like a significant step forward. Clinical research has accumulated layers of process over time, often for understandable reasons, but the cumulative impact can be considerable. Complexity creates additional burden for sites, adds friction for participants and can make studies more difficult to deliver consistently.

Innovation should help us address that. The most valuable solutions will not simply introduce something new. They will make the overall experience of delivering research simpler.

From AI potential to practical application

AI and automation are a good example of this shift.

At previous conferences, AI has often been discussed as a future opportunity. At DPHARM, it felt much more embedded across clinical development, with the conversation moving towards implementation and scale.

There was much more focus on where AI can be used to automate workflows, reduce manual effort and support better decision-making across clinical operations. Alongside that came an important discussion about the people needed to make it work.

We need to equip those with research experience to understand and apply AI effectively, while also bringing new AI expertise into clinical research. Technology can provide scale, but it still needs to be combined with experience, judgement and an understanding of how research works in practice.

Bringing research closer to people

We have long believed that research should fit around participants' lives, with our core vision being to create a future where good health is within everyone's reach.

That means taking research into the communities we serve and creating opportunities for people to participate closer to home. This approach of delivering research is an important part of the future clinical trial model.

At DPHARM, Sarka Oldham, our Chief Commercial Officer, spoke about the importance of bringing research closer to the communities we are trying to reach, rather than continuing to expect patients to travel to traditional research locations.

At Partnership with Sites, Cassie Kendrew, Chief Operating Officer, continued that conversation as part of a panel exploring what meaningful community engagement looks like in practice.

What was encouraging to me was seeing these conversations become increasingly mainstream. Community-based research is not simply about adding another location to a study or creating another recruitment channel. It is about creating a trusted research presence within communities and engaging with people before there is a study to recruit to.

That changes the way we think about recruitment. Rather than asking “How do we recruit patients when a study opens?”, we should be asking “How do we build relationships with the communities we need to reach before recruitment starts?”

That is where community sites can add real value. They can extend the reach of research beyond traditional sites, provide access to different populations and make participation more convenient for people in the places where they already live, work and spend their time.

Turning innovation into impact

The industry has no shortage of innovation. The opportunity now is to focus on what genuinely improves trial delivery.

For sponsors and CROs, that means moving beyond individual technologies and asking where innovation can reduce complexity, improve efficiency and deliver measurable impact across the study. My biggest takeaway from DPHARM was that the conversation has moved from what is possible to what is actually working.

If you would like to hear more about how innovation is being put into practice across clinical research, join me at CNS in Boston, where I will be bringing together leaders from Sponsors, Sites and technology partners to explore the innovations moving beyond pilots and into routine trial delivery. We will share real-world lessons, challenges and successes, and look at how these approaches are expanding access, accelerating enrolment, improving efficiency and enhancing the participant experience.

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Each month, InSites draws on more than two decades of experience supporting communities across the UK, sharing what has worked, what we are learning, and what we are seeing across an evolving research landscape.

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Dr Clare Grace, CEO, EMS Healthcare