
The Opportunity of Decentralized Trials
The growing interest in Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCTs) reflects a deepening industry-wide focus on patient-centricity coupled with the availability of remote data capture technologies that enable participation in trials from patients’ homes and other non-traditional settings. DCTs stand to reduce the patient burden and enhance diversity through greater flexibility while offering the potential for trial acceleration and improved patient enrolment. Trials may be fully decentralized, or, more commonly, take a hybrid approach combining remote elements with traditional site-centric approaches. During the pandemic, operational necessity significantly boosted the existing trajectory towards decentralization, and the number of trials incorporating decentralized components has increased from 250 trials in 2012 to 1,291 trials in 2021.