Sentinel IMPACT-AFib: Transforming Pragmatic Clinical Trials Using a Nationwide Distributed Claims Database

CTTI Project: Electronic Healthcare Data

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Webinar Presenters:

  • Chris Granger, MD, FACC, FAHA, Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Duke University Medical Center
  • Sean Pokorney, MD, MBA, Cardiology Fellow, Duke University

Webinar Objective:

This webinar provides an update on the Uses of Electronic Healthcare Data project. Through this project, CTTI is helping the FDA evaluate the use of its Sentinel System as a national resource for generating evidence that can guide medical decision-making. The Sentinel System was designed as a distributed database of claims data for conducting safety surveillance; the data remain in participating partners’ secure environments for analysis.

Using the Sentinel System for clinical trials has the potential to reduce the time and costs of participant enrollment and follow-up compared with conventional clinical trials. This webinar discusses the Implementation of a Multicenter Clustered Randomized Controlled Trial to imProve Treatment with AntiCoagulanTs in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (IMPACT-AFib). This proof-of-concept trial will be the first conducted using the Sentinel infrastructure and will serve as a pilot for future intervention studies that address critical public health needs.

IMPACT-AFib will randomize 40,000 patients and providers to test whether a multi-level educational intervention can increase the initiation of oral anticoagulation use among patients with atrial fibrillation meeting guidelines for stroke prevention who have not received such therapy in the preceding year. The trial will also assess outcomes associated with the treatment, including stroke.

Developing Approaches to Conducting Randomized Trials in the Mini-Sentinel Environment

CTTI Project: Electronic Healthcare Data

Webinar Presenters:

  • Richard Platt, MD, MS, of Mini-Sentinel
  • Patrick Archdeacon, MD of the FDA

*The views and opinions expressed in this video are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CTTI.

Webinar Objective:

Summarize the work generated by CTTI’s Uses of Electronic Data Project and the resulting, recently released report, Developing Approaches to Conducting Randomized Trials Using the Mini-Sentinel Distributed Database

CTTI Presents Recommendations from the Registry Trials Project

CTTI Project: Registry Trials

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Webinar Presenters:

  • John Laschinger, MD, Medical Officer, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, US Food and Drug Administration
  • Jules Mitchel, MBA, PhD, President, Target Health Inc

Webinar Objective:

This webinar covers CTTI's recommendations on conducting clinical trials using registries. Those interested in evaluating or designing a registry for the purposes of conducting clinical trials can learn more about the project’s tools, intended for the following purposes:

  • To determine if an Existing Registry is appropriate for embedding clinical trials
  • To assess if an Existing Registry contains the elements needed to support a clinical trial
  • To design a New Registry suitable for embedding clinical trials

Webinar Resources:

Download the CTTI Registry Trials Recommendations.

*Mentioned during Q&A: Registry of Patient Registries: patientregistry.ahrq.gov/

*CTTI encourages the use of all materials listed on this site in the pursuit of improving the clinical trials enterprise. If you use any of the slides from this presentation, please let us knowcredit CTTI, and make it clear that you are not presenting on behalf of CTTI.

Recording of Hybrid Public Workshop Now Available: AI in Drug and Biological Product Development v2

CTTI News | September 23, 2024

Topics Included: Data Collecting and Reporting, Ensuring Quality, Innovative Trials, Patient Engagement, Recruitment, Regulatory Submissions + Approvals, Safety, Site Planning

The recording for the hybrid public workshop on AI in Drug and Biological Product Development convened and hosted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI), held August 6, is now available. Over 9,000 registrants from diverse backgrounds and perspectives joined to explore the responsible use of AI in drug development. 

During the workshop, we learned from experts as they discussed guiding principles for the responsible use of AI in the development of safe, effective, and high-quality drugs. Drawing on real case examples, experts discussed their rationale for particular approaches, shared their methods for evaluating success, recounted challenges and obstacles, explored options for scaling and wider applicability, and outlined considerations for moving forward. Presentations can also be found here. 

CTTI’s Trials in Clinical Practice Resources are Valuable for Those Looking to Design and Conduct Randomized Trials that Integrate into Routine Clinical Practice

CTTI News | September 23, 2024

Topics Included: Data Collecting and Reporting, Innovative Trials, Site Planning

The FDA recently issued new guidance titled “Integrating Randomized Controlled Trials for Drug and Biological Products Into Routine Clinical Practice Guidance for Industry.” Those looking to put concepts from the guidance into action will find a range of valuable resources in CTTI’s Trials in Clinical Practice Toolkit. From recommendations and a site feasibility tool to case examples, these resources provide organizations and individuals with actionable operational and trial design considerations noted in the guidance. 

CTTI Senior Project Manager Lindsay Kehoe provides further insight in the recent Clinical Leader article, “Putting It Into Practice: Why We Need Embedded Clinical Trials, highlighting the need to incorporate elements like randomization and informed consent from trials into clinical practice to bridge the gap between research and practice. She underscores the potential for this integration to lead to a boost in knowledge, reduction in duplication of resources, and ultimately, enhanced patient care. Kehoe suggests that integration of trial elements is not all or none, benefits can be seen regardless of their number, and emphasizes the need for data to be relevant and reliable. She concludes that the success of this integration hinges on several factors: access to appropriate data, alignment of trial design with clinical workflow, preparedness of sites, clear accountability, and increased awareness of the value of research. 

The new guidance also emphasizes following a Quality by Design approach to streamline trials and proactively address risks of important errors. CTTI has developed a comprehensive Quality by Design toolkit, including recommendations, a principles document, and various resources that can help support implementation. 

More information about CTTI’s Trials in Clinical Practice & Quality by Design work is available on CTTI’s website.

Recent Publication Reviews How CTTI’s Digital Health Trial Hub Can Unlock the Potential of Digitalizing Trials

A new CTTI publication, published in Nature Reviews Bioengineering, reviews opportunities for and challenges to using digital health technologies in clinical trials and highlights CTTI’s Digital Health Trials (DHTs) Hub. Digital health technologies have the potential to transform evidence generation in clinical trials, from trial design and participant screening to data capture and analysis. However, digital health technologies introduce new challenges, including concerns around data protection and data quality. The wide variety of available technologies requires that sponsors carefully identify meaningful measures, select and test appropriate technologies for capturing these measures, and train site staff and participants to properly use the selected technologies.

CTTI’s DHT Hub includes tools and recommendations for developing novel endpoints, planning decentralized trials, selecting and testing digital health technologies, managing data, supporting sites, and interacting with regulators. These resources support the effective implementation of DHTs to bring therapies to patients more quickly and efficiently, aligning with CTTI’s Transforming Trials 2030 vision.

CTTI Publication Explores Perceived Barriers and Recommendations Surrounding the Adoption of Decentralization

Despite widespread support for decentralization, real and perceived challenges remain, limiting wider implementation of decentralized elements. A new CTTI publication, published in the Journal of Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science, explores three perceptions that are commonly heard as barriers to the adoption of decentralized approaches in clinical trials. Because the integration of these approaches has the potential to enhance accessibility, diversity, and to reduce the burden on participants and caregivers, it is crucial to understand which barriers can be readily addressed with existing strategies.  

In this commentary, CTTI staff outline the three barriers to adoption, discuss the degree to which the perceived and real barriers can be overcome, and share existing resources sponsors and trial designers can use to address them.