An Industry Perspective on Risks and Mitigation strategies Associated with Post Conduct Phase of Clinical Trial

Objective: To discuss the potential risks and their mitigation strategies in the post-conduct phase of the trial. Background: Risk management is very important for the clinical trial (CT) to ensure that the trial delivers its desired outcome(s) in terms of achieving protocol objective and regulatory compliance. Methodology: Experienced members of the clinical operation team of a pharmaceutical major underwent a series of sessions to identify risks associated with the post-conduct phase of CT and developed mitigation strategies based on own experiences and guidance documents. The risks were categorized into major, minor and critical risks. Results: In the post-conduct phase of a clinical trial, critical risk identified were; failure to communicate to the stakeholder about premature termination of the trial, mismatch of statistical analysis results and protocol objective/ regulatory requirement, clinical study report (CSR) noncompliant with regulatory requirements or delay in CSR preparation. Safety checks suggested to mitigate these risks including the development of related checklist or shell of relevant documents and its review by clinical development, quality assurance (QA) and regulatory affairs (RA) team prior to finalization. Additionally, six major and five minor risk areas were identified and safety checks were suggested. Conclusion: Sponsors must act proactively to ensure a systematic approach to conduct various post conduct trial activities and the plans to mitigate the risks that could affect the quality and outcome of the clinical trial. Future Perspective: A close coordination with all stakeholders for timely anticipation of risks and execution of mitigation strategies are required for successful CT outcomes.