Direct-To-Patient Model Keeps Research Moving And Patients Safe

By Andrea Ochoa and Victoria Watts

In an effort to maintain the continuity of our clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic, Premier Research is helping customers take steps to safeguard the well-being of patients who were previously expected to go to a medical facility to receive treatment.

A Direct-to-Patient (DTP) model applies only to studies for which the sponsor has had site closures as a result of COVID-19 and has requested direct shipping from the site to a patient’s home. Various factors have to be taken into consideration in the risk assessments, such as the ability of the patients to receive and self-administer the drug, the shipping conditions required, or whether the presence of a home nurse is necessary to facilitate administration. By following this process, we have identified those clinical studies that can be done virtually and for which the study drug can be shipped directly to patients.