If clinical trials are necessary for new drug development, where are the participants?

PharmaTimes published an interesting article on clinical trial participation (or lack thereof) in Ireland, and while that is across the pond from us I think the ideas are probably universal.  The article polled  the "general public" (actual methods were not discussed) on the perception of clinical trials and the results were interesting.  Basically, people do not participate in clinical trials because they either have: a poor understanding of what "clinical research" its or they are not willing to put themselves at risk by taking an investigational drug with serious or unknown side effects (Of course every drug has a laundry list of potential side effects, some quite serious, in the package insert, but how many patients read that before taking a medication?).  The strange thing is that, in spite of this, people seem to understand the importance of clinical research in developing new or improved treatments for any number of illnesses.  I have certainly experienced this first hand at the clinical research site side of things, and in my opinion the key to changing this trend is public education through a variety of platforms, including physicians (not just those who are clinical investigators).

All practicing physicians should advocate for participation in studies because the majority of the public does not have direct contact with a physician conducting a clinical trial, so what exists is essentially an untapped resource.  This can be as simple as an informational flyer or a discussion in an exam room, but all doctors should understand what clinical research is as well as the importance of enrollment in these medical research studies. 

Another option, which has been discussed at length recently, is social media.  We as a society have only begun to scratch the surface of the far reaching potential of services like facebook, youtube, and twitter.  While pharmaceutical companies struggle with appropriate ways to utilize these services, it should be a no-brainer for investigative sites.  As long as IRB approval of an ad is in hand, sites should be tweeting their new trials, updating their facebook pages (you DO have a company facebook page, DON'T you?) with new studies (as well as useful links about clinical research...think centerwatch.com), and posting ads on youtube.  From there these social media platforms should be posted, updated, and publicized as much as possible to increase visibility.  While this is a relatively new advertising plan (compared to print ads, which are becoming antiquated), social media has already proven in many other industries to be a vital educational and marketing tool whose power should not be overlooked.

Read the Life Science Leader piece on clinical trials, pharma, and social media