Clinical Research Education & Management Academy (CREMA) will host a conference to address the burning issue of Patient Recruitment & Retention (PR&R) in clinical trials, on November 3 and 4 in Mumbai.

The conference titled “Global Issues in Patient Recruitment and Retention: Challenges and Solutions, ” will be conducted in association with US-based D. Anderson & Company (DAC), an International Patient Recruitment and Retention organization.

The conference will be targeted at pharma & biotech companies, clinical research organizations (CROs), clinical research associates, clinical research coordinators, project managers, investigators and students.

“One of the biggest hurdles faced by Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) in the country today is the difficulty in getting patients for clinical trials not only in the case of critical diseases like Cancer and AIDS, but also in diseases like Diabetes & Heart ailments. No other recent conferences in the country have focused on the issue. This conference aims at providing in-depth strategies for CROs to successfully recruit and retain patients for clinical trials in India,” said Vijay Moza, chairman, CREMA.

According to him, factors that may have contributed to the PR&R issue include lack of awareness among masses about the importance of the need to conduct and participate in a clinical trial, lack of adequate communication support to the patients, and to assess whether they can be included in clinical trials or not.

The topics for discussion in the conference will include country-specific regulatory guidelines, customs and practices, challenges of international recruitment programs and strategies for overcoming them, cultural influences on patient recruitment and retention, standard operating procedures for patient recruitment and retention in India, advertising basics, ensuring ethics committee compliance, and case studies.

Dr. Diana Anderson, president  & chief executive officer of Dallas-based D. Anderson & Co., currently faculty advisor to CREMA, will be the key note speaker at the conference. Other speakers will include representatives from the government, CROs and pharma industry.