Driving End-to-End Study Success: Insights from a Clinical Site

Perspectives from a clinical trial team on successful partnerships with sponsors and CROs

Clinical trial success hinges on effective partnerships between sponsors, contract research organizations (CROs), and clinical sites. In a recent webinar, the clinical trials team at Northgate Pet Clinic shared their perspective on how to optimize site recruitment and engagement.

Selecting and Recruiting Clinical Sites

Clinical sites are the backbone of patient recruitment, data collection, and operational success. To identify and attract the right sites, Northgate recommends that teams consider a few key factors:

• Patient Population Alignment and Therapeutic Expertise: Evaluate how the study’s inclusion and exclusion criteria align with the clinic’s existing client base and therapeutic experience. Recruiting from an existing patient pool remains the most straightforward approach for clinics.
• Previous History with Clinical Trials: Sites already participating in multiple clinical studies may be more likely to accept new trials. These sites typically have established infrastructure, internal knowledge, and an organizational culture that prioritizes research and innovation.
• Operational Capacity: While previous trial experience is beneficial, sites must also have the capacity to support additional research. This is typically a function of study requirements and complexity rather than a specific number of concurrent studies. Starting site recruitment early and maintaining ongoing communication is key.

Northgate exemplifies a research-centric site, with clinical studies deeply integrated into their organization DNA. The team typically participates in 5-10 clinical trials simultaneously, with caseloads varying seasonally and based on study complexity.

Overall, Northgate accepts approximately 90% of proposed trials, declining only when there are conflicts of interest with another ongoing trial or when they lack necessary equipment or expertise for specific procedures.

Setting Sites Up for Success

Once a site has agreed to participate, the Northgate team emphasizes that proper training and organization become crucial to successful trial launch.

Monitor Relationships Matter

The relationship with Clinical Research Associates (CRAs) can make or break a study. Effective monitors do more than just oversee — they:

• Build trust through transparent and supportive communication
• Provide proactive, protocol-specific guidance
• Remain accessible for ongoing questions and support once the study is live

Quality Training Over Quantity

Site training should be efficient and comprehensive:

• Provide preparatory materials in advance
• Conduct interactive, protocol-specific live sessions
• Allow flexibility for experienced sites (e.g., optional EDC training)
• Plan for training to take 3-4 hours, with additional independent work as needed

As a cautionary tale, Northgate once experienced dispensing errors due to inadequate guidance on how to distinguish between control and treatment groups. For their team, this highlighted the importance of clear CRA communication and training that surfaces the most critical elements of the trial design and protocol.

Sites are often busy with day-to-day clinic work in addition to research studies. This makes it essential that sponsor or CRO teams provide detailed and prescriptive guidance to ensure the site can carry out the study correctly.

Supporting Participant Recruitment

Successful participant recruitment also requires strategic collaboration. Sponsors and CROs can support sites by sharing best practices with newer sites while providing materials to facilitate outreach for sites of all experience levels.

Northgate’s techniques typically include:

• In-house outreach: Sites will review their existing database of clients to identify eligible participants. Research teams can support sites by equipping site teams to speak to the benefits and responsibilities of study participation.
• Nearby clinic outreach: Northgate also reaches out to nearby clinics to identify potential participants who live within a reasonable drive. Positioning is important with this outreach, though; the research site must make it clear that they will not use this as an opportunity to poach clients from potentially competitive providers.
• Social media: For sites with a social media presence, posting about the trial can be an effective means of reaching more participants. Sponsors or CROs can support by creating materials to be shared on LinkedIn, Instagram, and other relevant channels.
• Participation incentives: Lastly, the clinical team emphasized that participants respond well to incentives or honorariums both in the form of monetary compensation and potential treatment benefits.

Providing the Best Technology

Finally, the eClinical solution selected for the trial can play a major role in site experience. Northgate emphasizes that site usability is critical, including:

• Auto-populating forms that fill in information that was previously entered elsewhere
• Easy navigation between patients for a given form as well as across all forms for a given patient
• Clear, intuitive interface that makes it obvious where data inputs are needed
• Summary views with the ability to quickly review study status and queries

For the Northgate team, working with a preferred EDC provider has made it more efficient and streamlined to onboard new studies and to successfully participate in trials.

Conclusion

Northgate’s insights underscore the importance of tailored approaches in clinical trial partnerships.

Success requires identifying the right sites, then establishing collaborative site monitor relationships, comprehensive yet efficient training, and clear ongoing communication. Selecting user-friendly eClinical technology can further enhance process adherence and data integrity.

With these elements in place, both sponsors and sites can focus on what matters most: advancing medicine through well-executed clinical trials.

To learn more, check out the full webinar recording below: