Among other things, 2021 will be known as the year of The Great Resignation, or in many sectors, the great retirement. Record numbers of employees left their jobs. Nearly four and a half million Americans left their jobs in September 2021, the highest number on record since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting data 20 years […]

International organizations such as the World Economic Forum have been researching and analyzing the “future of work” and its implications for economies. Likewise, consulting firms have been predicting the important training needed to prepare workforces for new labor markets. Surveys of company leaders indicate an increasing need for employee upskilling and retraining. The COVID pandemic […]

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this week that they were joining forces with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ten pharmaceutical companies and five non-profit organizations to accelerate the development of gene therapies for rare diseases. The new public-private partnership, called the Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium, aims to overcome obstacles and streamline the […]

In March 2020, as governments around the world were issuing large-scale lockdowns, health facilities shifted their efforts to addressing critical needs of patients while trying to maintain the safety of staff. Clinical trials ended or were paused, and researchers allocated their attention and resources to understanding and managing the novel coronavirus. To assist researchers, IRBs, […]

A Medicare coverage analysis (MCA) for clinical trials evaluates which tests, procedures, and interventions will be associated with a clinical trial. This analysis results in a budget and plan for invoicing third party payers and sponsors. Clinical trials for devices differ from interventional trials for drugs in a few key ways that can impact the process […]

An FDA audit or inspection can occur at any time, and sometimes with very little advance warning. The FDA conducts both announced and unannounced inspections of clinical investigator sites, typically under the following circumstances: to verify the accuracy and reliability of data that has been submitted to the agency; as a result of a complaint […]

One of the most critical first steps in preparing to launch a clinical trial is the development of a budget that covers expenses and compensates the research site. The budgeting process can be complex and requires detailed review of the protocol and a methodical line-by-line attention to detail. A properly negotiated budget ensures that a […]

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced updates to the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law in December 2016. The proposed legislation coincides with a detailed concept paper the White House published Tuesday in Science Magazine outlining their vision for the new research agency. The 21st Century Cures Act, known as “Cures”, was […]

The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on clinical trials and research programs. According to researchers at Penn State, over 80 percent of clinical trials were suspended between March 1 and April 26, 2020, mostly due to the pandemic. The impact was more substantial for government or academic-funded studies than for sponsored trials, according to their […]

The United States reached the one-year anniversary of the first confirmed case of COVID-19, on January 15. Even now, as the rollout of vaccinations is underway, institutions are still facing campus and facility closures. We cannot underestimate the impact of COVID-19 on clinical trials and the research community. Institutions have had to refocus resources toward […]

The campus closures necessitated by the pandemic in 2020 forced many research administration officials to adopt virtual meetings to continue their work. People scrambled to set up their home offices, to secure Wi-Fi networks and create accounts on videoconferencing services. The Internet offered dozens of articles on how to improve online meetings to encourage engagement […]

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine Houston announced this week that they were stopping a clinical trial investigating the efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in the treatment of patients with COVID-19. The reason, according to the principal investigator, was that statisticians had deemed the NIH-funded study to be futile. In other words, even with more […]

The disruption of clinical research as a result of COVID-19 cannot be overstated. Virtually everything about developing protocols and starting clinical trials has been upturned. In some cases, trials have been closed indefinitely. Others have been delayed or streamlined. Much of the interaction, such as IRB review meetings, has been shifted online, decentralized or outsourced […]

We know we are not alone when we say we are happy to put 2020 behind us. It was a challenging year for everyone, and we look forward to better days ahead. Despite the difficulties that the research community faced, we witnessed remarkable flexibility, resilience and creativity in dealing with significant hurdles. Last year lent […]

The FDA issued guidance in November aimed at enhancing diversity and encouraging inclusivity in medical research, specifically in the development of medical products. FDA Commissioner Stephan M. Hahn, M.D., wrote that “in order to promote public health, it is important that people who are in clinical trials represent the populations likely to use the potential medical […]

Even as research centers and academic institutions re-open after shutdowns due to COVID-19, many researchers are looking at ways to use remote technologies in their clinical trials. In South Carolina, for example, nicotine addiction researchers[1] are examining how to enroll smokers in their studies. They are evaluating e-consents, online surveys and questionnaires, as well as […]

By most any measure, one of the biggest impacts that COVID-19 has had on the practice of medicine is the shift toward more telemedicine visits. Although the practice of delivering health services over the phone or the Internet has been around for some time, it wasn’t until the pandemic forced communities to close that clinical […]

Even as communities start the process of evaluating re-opening, many experts believe that a new normal will be with us for a long time. Physical distancing, face masks and ubiquitous alcohol gel will be part of daily life. The risk of recurrence spikes also looms ahead and threatens a return to stricter “stay at home” […]

The current global pandemic combined with electronic medical records and data visualization technologies have resulted in unprecedented advances in real-time tracking of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, across countries, states and local communities. As the situation evolves, there will be ample opportunity and increased need for both retrospective and prospective COVID-19 research studies that […]

The rapidly evolving federal, state and local policies regarding COVID-19 are impacting every walk of life in the United States and around the world. Companies, as well as academic and government researchers, have pivoted their focus on vaccines and possible treatments for the novel coronavirus. Health and research institutions are trying to keep up with […]

Congratulations! You have gone through all the necessary steps to launch a clinical trial. Now it’s time to move on to the next one, right? Wrong! A successfully managed clinical trial requires ongoing tracking throughout its duration. Careful monitoring ensures your research institution remains compliant and that your site is compensated properly for the study. […]

Congratulations! You have gone through all the necessary steps to launch a clinical trial. Now it’s time to move on to the next one, right? Wrong! A successfully managed clinical trial requires ongoing tracking throughout its duration. Careful tracking ensures your research organization remains compliant and that your site is compensated properly for the study. […]

NEWS RELEASE BRANY (brany.com) has announced that Michael Belotto, PhD, MPH, CCRC, CCRA, will serve as chairperson for their social-behavioral IRB. The SBER IRB is comprised of a multidisciplinary group of experts in social and behavioral research, as well as human subject protection. “Dr. Belotto has been a great contributor to BRANY IRB’s success over the past […]

(Miami, FL) — The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program), a division of BRANY, has announced new online courses and webinars designed to help research professionals understand and comply with regulatory requirements for clinical trials. The three courses and webinars address critical regulatory requirements: Transitioning research to the Revised Common Rule Protocol registration and disclosure […]

Let’s face it. Every job has its challenges. However, burnout seems to be at an all-time epidemic level. A recent report from Harvard University highlighted physician burnout as a public health crisis. A keyword search for “preventing burnout” yields 15 million results in Google. In the United States, problems associated with burnout are estimated to […]

Public Posting An important provision in the Revised Common Rule is the requirement to post, to a publicly-available federal Web site, a copy of an IRB-approved version of the consent form that was used for enrollment purposes for each clinical trial conducted or supported by a federal department or agency. The Office for Human Research […]

The Revised Common Rule has a few important changes regarding consent waivers. Under the revised Common Rule, broad consent is provided as an alternative to the informed consent requirements for the storage, maintenance, and secondary research use of identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens. If an individual was asked and refused to provide broad consent, […]

While the industry waits for additional guidance on the Revised Common Rule, there are some aspects that are worth taking note now. This is a series of posts that address various important changes for research professionals to keep in mind as they implement the Revised Common Rule. Concise Summary Consent forms must facilitate comprehension by […]

Recent news about approved immunotherapy and gene therapies has generated excitement around the possibilities of treating difficult diseases. Organizations have increased funding in this area, including a recently announced $1.3 million grant in funding by the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy for research in gliobastoma, sarcoma and ovarian cancer. The increased attention and funding means […]

Please read the attached Centerwatch Article to learn how social, educational and behavioral research is distinct from biomedical research when it comes to writing study protocols.  cww2131_BRANY