Ep. 20: Collaborating with patients throughout drug development

The Latest Dose

There’s no question that clinical research is the backbone of healthcare invention, helping to improve the prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. But at the heart of it all you’ll find that patients are the true lifeblood of clinical research, keeping things moving and allowing researchers to save more lives every day.

With patients at the center of clinical trials, it only makes sense that they can (and should) be involved throughout the drug development process. Laws like the 21st Century Cures Act, and programs like the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) pilot expect and encourage the patient perspective to inform product development.

To be clear, having patients contribute to bringing inventions to market is not new. However, it is often much more involved than simply identifying eligible, consenting candidates for a clinical trial.

In episode 20 of The Latest Dose, we discuss the ins + outs of collaborating with patients throughout drug development with two industry experts, Deborah Collyar, founder and president of Patient Advocates in Research (PAIR), and Andy Lawton, director at Risk-Based Approach Ltd. With phrases like patient centricity, patient engagement, and patient empowerment meaning different things to different stakeholders, Deborah and Andy help to breakdown the how and why it’s so critical to involve patients in all aspects of drug development.