Unique pilot project of Oriola and Bayer: From pharmacy to clinical trial

With the increasing challenges in enrolling and engaging patients in clinical trials, the landscape of clinical trials is in perpetual change. This year, Bayer, in collaboration with Oriola´s Farenta Expert Services, run a pilot project called ‘From Pharmacy to Clinical Trial’. The project was carried out through Oriola´s network of research pharmacies in Finland, and its aim was to identify patients who would be potentially interested in participating and eligible to participate in a clinical study, and to refer them to study sites near their home.

The results of the pilot project were presented on 15^th September 2018 by Sakari Aropuu, the Head of Site Management Finland & Baltics at Bayer. Aropuu’s speech was one of the keynotes in the training event organized by the Association of Finnish Pharmacies. The event comprised topical issues and current developments in the field of pharmaceutical industry.

In his presentation, Aropuu suggested that pharmacies could be an excellent place to engage patients in clinical trials, because pharmacies offer a trustworthy environment for patients to learn more about clinical trials from trained healthcare professionals. For the first time, patients were able to hear in pharmacies about the possibility to participate in a clinical study and to be assessed for eligibility as possible candidates.

“Pharmacy customers who submitted their contact details have been genuinely interested in this project and have been looking forward to it”, says  Kirsi Putkonen, a pharmacist at Leppävirta pharmacy – one of the pharmacies actively participating in the pilot project.

Study sites received the contact details of potential patients and sent them a request to visit the site in order to participate in the necessary diagnostic tests  and for the formal assessment of their eligibility to participate in the clinical trial.

To learn more about Oriola´s service ‘From Pharmacy to Clinical Trial’, please contact Jarno Ruotsalainen jarno.ruotsalainen@oriola.com, Research Manager at Oriola’s Farenta Expert Services.