Dan Ariely

Professor Dan Ariely

The Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI) held its quarterly Steering Committee meeting this past September in Washington DC, which focused largely on effective ways to increase adoption of clinical trial recommendations.

CTTI, created as a partnership between the FDA and Duke University, strives to develop and drive adoption of practices that will increase the quality and efficiency of clinical trials. Their ultimate goal is a “high quality clinical trial system that is patient-centered and efficient, enabling reliable and timely access to evidence-based therapeutic prevention and treatment options”.

The LRG is a member of the CTTI Steering Committee, which provides input into decisions about CTTI priorities, projects and recommendations.

In addition to the main focus on driving adoption of recommendations, Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, keynote speaker at the meeting, sparked engaging discussion on how to use the concepts associated with behavioral economics to identify and overcome behavioral obstacles to driving change in clinical trials.

Members from all corners of the industry participate in steering committee meetings—including pharmaceuticals, hospitals, government and of course, patient advocacy. The atmosphere was highly collaborative, with breakout sessions focusing on taking ideas from concept to action.

The LRG has been a CTTI member for the last several years and looks forward to the opportunity to bring the patient voice to developing new strategies for clinical trial innovations.