1,000th patient with atopic dermatitis recruited

‘We have been very successful in recruiting this group of patients,’ says Prof. Robert Rissmann, Research Director in Dermatology. ‘This is due to a team effort by our in-house recruiters and physicians, along with our strong national network of dermatologists, CONNECTED.’ In multicentre trials, CHDR often manages to recruit the largest numbers of patients with atopic dermatitis. ‘In our most recent multicentre trial, we were the top recruiter out of 20 sites. In addition, we were much more efficient in terms of the inclusion rate,’ notes Rissmann. Of the eczema patients that CHDR recruits for trials, on average more than a third are actually able to go on and participate in a study.

‘The treatment options for atopic dermatitis have greatly improved in recent times,’ says Rissmann. ‘Patients with moderate to severe eczema can access effective treatments in a clinical setting. As a result, however, most of them aren’t willing to interrupt their regular treatment to participate in a placebo-controlled study. Therefore, we often focus our recruitment efforts on people with mild to moderate eczema. They can be reached by our media campaigns, and there are also a number of such individuals in our extensive database of study volunteers.’

High throughput

According to Rissmann, the relatively low screening failure rate is due to effective pre-screening by CHDR’s recruiters, who contact each prospective participant by phone. ‘Our recruiters are very adept at pre-screening by phone. Besides carefully addressing the questions that have been pre-defined and approved by our team, they also know how to put people at ease. That way, we not only attract people to participate, but also filter effectively to find the right people to invite for screening.’

Once the right patients are included in a study, Rissmann and his team can begin with the clinical work. ‘Our Dermatology group has a great track record with high-throughput clinical trials. In some multicentre studies, the clients are surprised by the amount of data we can generate in quite a short period of time. And we get great satisfaction from being able to deliver above expectations!’