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Third-Party Credentials for Selecting the Best DCT Platform Partner

Decentralized clinical trials (DCTs) are becoming one of the most dynamic areas of recovery and growth for the life sciences industry. According to the Lancet, 80% of non-COVID trials were suspended in 2020, forcing major pharmaceutical companies to delay current or planned trials. The potential to bring trials out of the clinic and to geographically dispersed patients is a key mitigator against disruptions and maximizes the potential for trial success irrespective of environmental factors. While there has been significant DCT information in the marketplace for some time, recently market researchers have begun to quantify offerings and provide pharmaceutical companies ways to evaluate partners as they shift their business models towards a decentralized approach.

DCT Platform Comprehensive Evaluations

DCT assessments have come from notable organizations including The Everest Group and Frost & Sullivan. Everest’s PEAK Matrix® Assessment is a composite index of distinct metrics related to a vendor’s capability and market impact. Frost & Sullivan issues annual Customer Value Leadership Awards that signal innovation, growth and comprehensive customer-oriented offerings and now include an evaluation of the decentralized clinical trials industry. These comprehensive evaluations make it very simple for DCT decision-makers to determine if potential partners:

  1. Offer a suite of easy-and-quick-to-deploy products with a unified data model enabling all patient data to be housed in a single repository, eliminating data silos
  2. Have positive customer feedback in areas such as innovation, use a consultative approach, are responsive to customers’ needs and feedback, and act as strategic counsel on how to decentralize and launch studies.
  3. Deploy advanced analytics for areas including predictive patient retention
  4. Offer ease-of-use solutions such as a simplified study sensor experience and the ability to integrate wearable data into a single source of reliable data
  5. Lead the industry to hybrid system solutions the span decentralized and centralized service models
  6. Transform previously costly, tedious, and cumbersome clinical trial process into a safe, trustworthy, responsive, hassle-free, convenient, and inexpensive health care experience
  7. Mitigate critical trial delays by providing a singular, fully configurable, and comprehensive DCT technology platform
  8. Maximize efficient patient recruitment and broader trial diversity by expanding study site access geographically
  9. Provide enhanced data quality through continuous, real-world data capture
  10. Enable increased engagement through convenient and streamlined participant and stakeholder experiences design
  11. Scale a compliant and secure platform on a global scale


For more details, check out the recent report on the topic. For additional information on how THREAD can help you optimize your clinical trials, visit THREADResearch.com