Accelerating Studies and Reducing Cost.

• Position: CANCER RESEARCH - Brief article

A model for improving how clinical trials are developed and conducted by bringing together academic cancer specialists and pharmaceutical companies is being tested at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. It was piloted in a multi-study leukemia research program established between MD Anderson and Bristol-Myers Squibb and revamped how studies are designed and carried out.

Current methodology often limits patient access to and eligibility for studies, slows down drug development, and increases costs. Since the 1980s, drug companies have employed contract research organizations--outside groups that have limited input from academic cancer specialists and that focus on the one-drug, one-cancer approach to designing clinical trials with restrictive guidelines for patient eligibility.

The new model allows researchers to arrive at findings more quickly, conduct multiple clinical trials of pharmaceutical company drugs across several cancer types, lessen expenses, and increase the...