CRO giant Icon ($ICLR) has expanded its technology portfolio with a system it says can improve patient randomization and clinical supply in adaptive trials.
The new offering, Flex Advantage, is a so-called interactive response technology, allowing for sponsors to alter their studies as they progress. In adaptive trials, investigators examine data at predefined benchmarks to see how well drugs are working and which patient populations are responding best, allowing them to alter dosing and enrollment as things move forward.
Icon's service is designed to ease the many requirements of adaptive trials, including a patient randomization software that can be adjusted midtrial as protocols change, the company said, plus an integrated service that helps sponsors manage their clinical supplies throughout a study. Flex Advantage also provides real-time data readouts, Icon said.
The new service is a response to the fact that "many of our clients are embracing adaptive trial designs to optimize their drug development programs, and these designs can require rapid changes in dosing and drug supply logistics," Icon Executive Vice President Malcolm Burgess said in a statement.
Icon has long invested in clinical trial technology in an effort to stand out among the world's largest CROs, investing in service platforms that allow sponsors to monitor safety issues, keep tabs on sites and track and visualize efficacy trends in real time.
- read the statement