Tandem Clinical Research
Educational Approach to Clinical Trials

Misconceptions around clinical research and fear of unknown side effects have historically prevented people from participating in clinical trials. Simultaneously, clinical studies have witnessed a consistent under-representation of patients from diverse subgroups. This has restricted pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies from accurately assessing the efficacy of research works and translating key findings into novel treatment options.

This is where Louisiana-based Tandem Clinical Research steps in. The multi-therapeutic and independent clinical research site has extensive experience in managing clinical trials on a wide range of indications for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies.

One of Tandem Clinical Research’s founding missions is to serve patients belonging to communities that might not otherwise have opportunities to participate in clinical research. Its business model is steered towards improving health literacy around the processes involved in clinical research trials. “We educate people about the research process and what a clinical trial entails, including the risks, benefits, and alternatives, so that they can make an informed decision on whether or not to volunteer,” says Orlan Romm, the CEO of Tandem Clinical Research. Such transparency plays a vital role in significantly increasing the number of participants and successfully leading a trial toward completion.

What gives Tandem Clinical Research the added advantage is their premier location at the Physician Center of West Jefferson Medical Center of Marrero, LA, with excellent access to expert physicians in therapeutic specialties like GI, pain, ENT, CNS, and endocrinology, to name a few. The convenient location also allows access to a diverse New Orleans population of over 1.5 million individuals. No wonder the Tandem Clinical Research team has already conducted over 400 trials in stages I-IV efficiently and successfully.

But how does diverse patient participation prove to be so crucial in clinical trials? If so, why is accommodating patient diversity in research no easy feat for clinical researchers?

DIVERSE PARTICIPATION THROUGH INFORMED CONSENT

Historically, minorities have remained largely under-represented in clinical trials owing to the inequity in the healthcare system. The problem is so pervasive that it can call into question the very science that goes into new drug development. Not just that, the disparities also negatively impact the nation’s overall health, calling for an urgent need to improve the diversity of participants in clinical trials.

However, an inclusive engagement rather than mere “recruitment” can be made possible only through grassroots activism—a broader field of awareness by the research enterprises involving more outreach and ongoing communication. This is where Tandem Clinical Research’s educational approach to improve overall health literacy promises a feasible way forward.

“Our mode of operation is efficient, effective, person-centered, inclusive, and integrated into the health delivery system,” explains John Neill, COO, Tandem Clinical Research. This enables Tandem Clinical Research to equally cater to the needs of both the patients and the sponsors and, in Neill’s words, “walk arm-in-arm” with them. The company’s business ethics is founded on tactic empathy that looks into the needs of both the patient and the sponsor. It also ensures every study gets conducted and managed with proper oversight, rapid enrollment, and accurate data.

In addition, Tandem Clinical Research follows specific, pre-defined, sponsor-approved protocols in every trial. An independent institutional review board also reviews these protocols, following the FDA guidelines, to assure patients on the ethical management of the study.

The team is headed by board-certified physicians, who are highly respected in their fields of medicine and have all been trained in Good Clinical Practice, which is an international ethical and scientific quality standard for designing, recording, and reporting trials. “Our constant communication, education, and amicability provide a benevolent environment, where patients get the opportunity to move the science of medicine forward for themselves, their loved ones, and posterity,” Romm adds in.

VOUCHING ON RESILIENCE AND ADAPTABILITY

The well-built business model and an urge to democratize the clinical trial ecosystem have enabled Tandem Clinical Research to remain resilient even during the trying times of the pandemic. The unprecedented crisis disrupted the planned and ongoing clinical trials due to slow enrollment as well as participants withdrawing midway through the research. As many hospitals that served as trial sites were inundated with COVID-19 patients, there was also the added risk for clinical trial participants contracting the virus. This forced the organizations supporting clinical trials as a sponsor, collaborator, or contract research organization (CRO) to pause some studies not related to COVID-19.

While other market players put a stop to other drug trials to make way for COVID-only research, Tandem Clinical Research moved forward. The company opened an entire business arm for COVID-19-related treatment and evaluation. In addition, they probed the possibility of decentralized clinical trials so they could bring research to the trial participants rather than the traditional paradigm of making them come to the site. It made the whole procedure more convenient while minimizing the risk of infection for the patients. Adopting decentralization also broadened trial access to reach a larger number and a more diverse pool of patients. This helped Tandem Clinical Research collect valuable data that can potentially bring about better treatment options.

Dedicated toward improving the quality of patients’ lives, Tandem Clinical Research is aware of the impact they can potentially bring to the lives of millions of people. The company is focused on therapeutic areas that lack better options of treatment, including endocrinology and neurology studies like fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and memory loss, among others.

A CULTURE FOR CONTINUOUS GROWTH

Having successfully tackled the pandemic-induced roadblocks, Tandem Clinical Research is poised to take more challenges head-on and emerge as a true industry leader. Talking about the recipe behind the company’s speedy growth, Neill attributes it all to the work culture that fosters a nurturing environment. Tandem Clinical Research believes in finding the right talent and investing in people who are active participants in the collaboration between both sponsors and patients.

As all good things take time, the company’s inclusive talent pool too was not built in a day. It was the fruit of a long-standing relationship among the three founders, Romm, Neill, and Adil Fatakia. As the friendship bled into the professional space, it accommodated the much-needed transparency between leadership in an organizational setting.

Built on a foundation that values team spirit and better patient life, Tandem Clinical Research now focuses on growing the networking database with new physicians and trial participants. The 75-person clinic network is also set to expand its geographic foothold beyond New York, Florida, and Louisiana. Keeping pace with the industry’s advancements, Tandem Clinical Research continues to work on both centralized and decentralized clinical trials and catalyzing medical advancements to improve the lives of people for good.

As the name suggests, Tandem Clinical Research always works in liaison with the sponsors and the patients to make clinical trials more effective, streamlined, and inclusive. Truly, in today’s ever-changing corporate space, Tandem Clinical Research has etched its niche by ensuring effective patient care and driving the science of medicine forward.