Walgreens, BARDA team to strengthen clinical trials
Walgreens says it has reached more than five million patients to potentially recruit into clinical trials since its launch in 2022.
Photo: Westend61/Getty Images
Walgreens is partnering with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) – part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the Department of Health and Human Services – to increase innovation in decentralized clinical trials as part of the Decentralized Clinical Operations for Healthcare and Research program.
The D-COHRe program is designed to strengthen decentralized clinical research capabilities, thereby supporting development of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-regulated products, enhancing clinical innovation to execute more efficient and relevant clinical research, and evaluating other medical countermeasures in real-world environments that may be used in a public health emergency.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
The partnership will use Walgreens's clinical trial ecosystem, which the company maintains has been effective in making clinical trials more accessible and representative of the U.S. population.
Walgreens said it has reached more than five million patients to potentially recruit into clinical trials since its launch in 2022.
The company said that, while attempting to make decentralized clinical research models more efficient and accessible, it has consistently met recruitment goals and continuously surpassed national averages for recruiting diverse participants for its sponsor-led clinical trials. Its approach to recruitment is to utilize its physical footprint and its decentralized clinical trial platform to engage patients in a convenient manner.
Nearly 80% of trials fail to meet their enrollment goals in the stated time frames, often contributing to billions of dollars in delays annually, Walgreens said, adding that only 5% of the U.S. population participates in clinical trials.
Walgreens is also partnering with BARDA on a Phase IV observational COVID-19 trial to enhance U.S. public health preparedness through the Walgreens community pharmacy network.
THE LARGER TREND
Walgreens launched its clinical trial business in 2022. At the time the company said it would use its collection of pharmacy and patient-authorized clinical data to match diverse patient populations to various clinical trials based on race, gender, socioeconomic status and location.
CVS ended its clinical trial business last year, due to what the company described as part of an effort to focus on its core business.
ON THE RECORD
"It is a privilege to continue our partnership with BARDA to strengthen clinical research in the U.S. through a decentralized model in a community pharmacy setting like Walgreens," said Ramita Tandon, chief clinical trials officer at Walgreens. "Our network of community pharmacies and our compliant and secure clinical trial platform enables us to pioneer a comprehensive solution to make clinical research an integral part of a patient's healthcare journey, especially when it is most critical for the well-being of our country, during a public health emergency."
Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.
