Master Protocol Studies

The Fastest Path to Effective COVID-19 Treatments: Using Master Protocol Studies

JANUARY 13, 2021

CTTI Project: Clinical Trial Issues Related to COVID-19

Meeting Overview:

CTTI hosted The Fastest Path to Effective COVID-19 Treatments: Using Master Protocol Studies Public Summit on Wed., Jan. 13. The summit, conducted as a webinar and moderated by Pamela Tenaerts, CTTI, included a welcome from Janet Woodcock, Operation Warp Speed; a call-to-action from Robert M. Califf, Verily and Google Health; and panel discussions moderated by Ester Krofah, FasterCures, and Mark McClellan, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy. The panel focused on solutions related to scaling master protocols, including:

  • Overcoming barriers to starting up sites
  • Increasing participants at existing sites
  • Using the COVID experience to inform our preparedness for future pandemics

The public summit also addressed the status of COVID-19 clinical trials, including results from a recent CTTI analysis of data from ClinicalTrials.gov and findings of a pre-summit survey that offered best practices and insights from those involved in COVID-19 treatment master protocols, specifically those setting up new sites and recruiting participants at existing sites.

This public summit is part of a collaborative effort with the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University and FasterCures, a Center of the Milken Institute.

Meeting Location:

Virtual Meeting

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Materials:

Watch Public Summit

Presentation Slides

Survey Results Slides

Articles of Interest

Master Protocol COVID Treatment Resources

The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the individual presenter and should not be attributed to the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative, or any organization with which the presenter is employed or affiliated.

Master Protocol 2019 Expert Meeting

OCTOBER 22, 2019 TO OCTOBER 23, 2019

CTTI Project: Master Protocol Studies

Meeting Overview:
The purpose of the meeting was to explore and develop strategies to address common challenges related to the design and implementation of master protocols, including:

  • Mapping the pre-planning, planning, and execution processes of a master protocol trial.
  • Strategizing solutions to common roadblocks related to the pre-planning, planning, and execution of a master protocol study.
  • Identifying and prioritizing the creation of tools to support the adoption of emerging best practices outlined by CTTI’s roadmap.

Meeting Materials:

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Summary

Roadmap

Participant List

Full Presentation Set - Day 1

Full Presentation Set - Day 2

Welcoming Remarks & Meeting Overview

Session I: Landscape Review

Session II: Building Capacity for Innovation

Session III: Small Group Breakout Sessions

Session IV: Tool Identification

Session V: Next Steps & Closing Comments

The views and opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the individual presenter and should not be attributed to the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative, or any organization with which the presenter is employed or affiliated.

Master Protocol 2020 Expert Meeting

APRIL 20, 2020 TO APRIL 21, 2020

CTTI Project: Master Protocol Studies

Meeting Overview:
The purpose of the meeting was to continue to drive the development of publicly available resources to support the successful design and implementation of master protocol studies. Specific meeting objectives included the following:

  • Refine CTTI tools to support the development of emerging master protocol studies in diverse therapeutic areas
  • Identify specific capacity building efforts to support cross-institutional collaboration in response to COVID-19 and other major public health threats

Meeting Materials:

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Summary

Full Presentation Set - Day 1

Full Presentation Set - Day 2

New Resources for Designing and Running Master Protocols

CTTI Project: Master Protocol Studies

 

Webinar Presenters:

  • Abby Bronson, Edgewise Therapeutics
  • Marianne Chase, Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Daniel Millar, Janssen R&D
  • Nick Richardson, FDA, CDER

Webinar Resources:

PDF iconDownload Slides

New CTTI Publication Investigates Best Practices for Driving Adoption of Master Protocols

Posted on by Hannah Faulkner

In a new publication, CTTI applies expertise from industry sponsors, regulatory agencies, patient groups, and academic institutions to identify best practices for driving the widespread adoption of master protocols. Master protocol studies use a single protocol to guide the design and conduct of multiple sub-studies that can answer several questions at once—enabling patient-centric and efficient clinical research. Despite these benefits, adoption of master protocol studies remains limited. To facilitate broader adoption, CTTI conducted a landscape review and collected insights from multi-stakeholder expert meetings. Through these efforts, CTTI identified a broad set changes in the clinical trials ecosystem that would be needed for mainstream adoption master protocol studies: (1) the development of a harmonized global vision, (2) mobilization through the leadership of patients and academic groups, and (3) reinvention of operational processes and partnerships. The full publication, available in Clinical Trials, discusses the barriers to widespread adoption of master protocol studies and details potential solutions. The paper also highlights a suite of tools that CTTI has developed to support the design and conduct of high-quality, efficient master protocol studies.

Recording Now Available: The Fastest Path to Effective COVID-19 Treatments: Using Master Protocol Studies Public Summit

Posted on by Hannah Faulkner

A recording for CTTI’s public summit, The Fastest Path to Effective COVID-19 Treatments: Using Master Protocol Studies, held Jan. 13, is now available. The summit, conducted as a webinar, opened with a welcome from Janet Woodcock, Operation Warp Speed; a call-to-action from Robert M. Califf, Verily and Google Health; and included three panel discussions focused on solutions related to scaling master protocols.

The first panel, Practical Solutions to Setting Up Master Protocol Sites, moderated by Pamela Tenaerts, CTTI, with panelists Derek Angus, REMAP-COVID; Laura Esserman, I-SPY-COVID; and Manizhe Payton, ACTIV-2, examined key challenges and potential solutions to starting up new sites including contracting, competing trials, staffing, and IRB submission.

The second panel, Increasing Participant Enrollment in Master Protocols, moderated by Esther Krofah, Faster Cures, with panelists Kousick Biswas, Veterans Health Administration; Dan Cooper, UC Irvine; and Martin Landray, RECOVERY Trial, examined the key challenges limiting participant enrollment including competition with other trials, burden on staff, and discussed potential solutions to overcome hurdles such as co-enrollment.

The final panel, Lessons for the Future, moderated by Mark McClellan, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, with panelists Sam Brown, Intermountain Health System; Adrian Hernandez, PCORnet; and Saye Khoo, AGILE, discussed policy changes needed to improve future pandemic preparedness.

The public summit also addressed the status of COVID-19 clinical trials, including results from a recent CTTI analysis of data from ClinicalTrials.gov, and findings from a pre-summit survey of those involved in COVID-19 treatment master protocols, specifically those involved in setting up new sites or recruiting participants at existing sites.

View the full slide deck for the public summit to learn more from each presenter.

For additional information on CTTI’s master protocols work, please refer to this web page.

This public summit is part of a collaborative effort with the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University and FasterCures, of the Milken Institute.

CTTI to Host Jan. 13 Public Summit, The Fastest Path to Effective COVID-19 Treatments: Using Master Protocol Studies, Featuring Research & Healthcare Leaders

Posted on by Hannah Faulkner

CTTI will host a public summit, The Fastest Path to Effective COVID-19 Treatments: Using Master Protocol Studies, on Wednesday, January 13. The summit, conducted as a webinar and moderated by CTTI Executive Director Pamela Tenaerts, will include a welcome from Janet Woodcock, Operation Warp Speed; a call-to-action from Robert M. Califf, Verily and Google Health; remarks from Mark McClellan, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy; and a panel discussion moderated by Esther Krofah, FasterCures. The panel discussion will focus on solutions related to scaling master protocols, including:

  • Overcoming barriers to starting up sites
  • Increasing participants at existing sites
  • Using the COVID experience to inform our preparedness for future pandemics

“As we’ve learned in the global pandemic, the faster we have reliable answers, the better,” said Tenaerts. “As we look to successfully accelerate progress for COVID-19 treatments, the need for collaborative trials that supply reliable insights has never been greater and in many cases, master protocol studies can provide the solution.”

This public summit will also address the status of COVID-19 clinical trials, including results from a recent CTTI analysis of data from ClinicalTrials.gov and other research, and examine the use of common platforms to optimize the design of master protocols for multiple therapies attempting to treat the same diseases or specific health problems.

The free public summit will be held from 10:30am until noon EST.

This public summit is part of a collaborative effort with the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University and FasterCures, a Center of the Milken Institute.