New Cutting Edge Information Research Examines Clinical Trials' Spending, Staffing, Strategies and Processes

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwire - July 29, 2008) - Pharmaceutical business intelligence leader Cutting Edge Information announces the launch of its 225-page benchmarking report, "Streamlining Clinical Trials."

A complimentary brochure is available for download at http://cuttingedgeinfo.com/clinicaltrialbenchmarking/index.htm#body.

The report covers resource allocation, performance measurement, continuous process improvement, patient and investigator recruitment and adaptive trial designs. Data include clinical development budgets, clinical operations team structures and staffing levels, performance measurement and management, clinical operations hurdles and process improvement tools and tactics. CEI also draws comparisons to its studies in 2006 and 2004 to show clinical development trends.

The report consists of 500+ metrics and detailed case studies to assist clinical development executives and clinical operations team members in accelerating trials. It focuses on three aspects:

--  Patient Recruitment: Patient recruitment continues to dominate
    clinical timelines and budgets.  The report devotes an entire chapter to
    this challenge, providing the latest trends and tools in recruitment.
--  Budgeting and Performance Assessments: Clinical project managers must
    set clear performance expectations and measure and manage trials.  The
    report provides clinical spending benchmarks to assist in trial budgeting
    and planning.
--  Clinical Operations Structure and Work Flow: Clinical trial management
    team members must know their roles and responsibilities, and communication
    with vendors and investigators must be seamless. The report outlines major
    obstacles clinical teams face and presents real-company, proven solutions.
    

"Clinical operations teams confront numerous internal and external challenges, which often result in delays that can end up costing pharma companies hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more," says David Richardson, lead author of the report. "To be efficient, teams need creative approaches to challenges such as patient recruitment."

Metrics focus on budgets, staffing and performance metrics. They include:

--  Average per patient clinical trial costs in the US
--  Patients per CRA
--  Trial-specific staffing for clinical trials covering about 10
    therapeutic areas
--  Percentage of surveyed companies that track various performance
    measures
--  Surveyed companies' assessments of metrics that have power to impact
    organizational change
--  Percentage of companies performing adaptive trials design
    

Contact Information: CONTACT INFORMATION: David Richardson 919-433-0216