Stridon Clinical Research
Bringing About Efficiency in Clinical Drug Trials

According to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), it takes around 12 years for an experimental drug to turn from a scientific theory into new medicine. And, only one in 5000 drugs get approved and make it to market. With such low odds for success, efficiency in the drug development process is highly desirable. This is where Stridon Clinical Research lays its cornerstone. The company was founded by Dr Radivoj Arezina with an aim to address the concerns that negatively affect clinical research, and in turn, bring in more efficiency in clinical drug trials. Offering expert support for clinical trials, Stridon helps pharmaceutical and biotech companies, along with other clinical research institutions, streamline the drug development process while reducing its cost and time to market.

“Our expertise is underpinned by more than 20 years of experience in clinical trial design, conduct, regulatory oversight, and reporting,” states Arezina. “Moreover, a unique combination of being based in the UK—a centre of excellence in clinical research—and having innate knowledge and understanding of the clinical trial operations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) makes Stridon an ideal partner for companies intending to conduct clinical trials in the region.”

Arezina points out that the most common cause of delays in drug development is insufficient or untimely patient recruitment for clinical trials. With this in mind, Stridon’s site management service is designed to help clients effectively overcome this challenge. The company’s dedicated network of professionals with expertise in the therapeutic and specialty areas—across all phases of clinical development—supports pharma companies to ensure effective patient recruitment and retention. Arezina states, “Analyses show that reducing the time taken for clinical trials of successful new medicines by even a week allows companies to save in excess of $50 million.” Streamlining the process is particularly important in the case of Phase III clinical trials, which often involve enrolling thousands of patients.

Our expertise is underpinned by more than 20 years of experience in clinical trial design, conduct, regulatory oversight, and reporting

“It is notable that the expedience in clinical trial conduct is more present and talked about in early phase clinical trials, but then this seems to dissipate as the research progresses and moves to Phase III. And this is where we want to make a difference: apply the efficiencies and time savings typically associated with the conduct of Phase I trials to later phase patient trials,” affirms Arezina.

Stridon’s service portfolio also includes clinical trial staff training, medical writing services, regulatory submissions, and undertaking GCP and GMP audits. Clients can avail these services individually or as part of a package. An integral feature of Stridon’s offering is the company’s hands-on approach to delivering tailor-made services. “We pride ourselves on having a global reach and the capability to fulfill our clients’ unique demands,” states Arezina. To illustrate this point, Arezina mentions how Stridon, in collaboration with University College London (UCL), is involved in training Saudi Arabia Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) pharmaceutical assessors. The SFDA, a relatively young governmental regulatory agency was established to promote and protect public health. Together with the UCL, Stridon was instrumental in encouraging the SFDA to select London over other locations to train their inspectors and assessors. After an initial pilot training, the SFDA members are currently engaged in a training program that will be expanded in 2020.

Stridon is also in direct discussions with both the regulatory authorities in Eastern Europe and other global pharmaceutical industry representatives to design and implement sustainable solutions in terms of clinical trial conduct and patient recruitment. The initiative will enable local personnel responsible for conducting clinical trials in the CEE region to further develop their skills. In turn, this is expected to increase the ability of these countries to get involved in many more international clinical trials and allow the pharmaceutical companies to open a greater number of clinical trial sites in the region. With such progress underway, Arezina strongly believes that his company is working towards the collective benefit of the international pharma industry and the local clinical research establishments.