CVS Health announces new clinical trials services business

Photo | CNN Money A CVS storefront.

Write a Comment

By Zachary Vasile

CVS Health is launching a new business aimed at facilitating and improving clinical trials.

In a statement, the Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based health care and retail pharmacy conglomerate said its new segment, dubbed “Clinical Trial Services,” will work with the biopharmaceutical industry to recruit potential patients and make clinical trials more accessible to more people.

Low levels of patient enrollment, diversity and engagement, coupled with inconvenient trial sites and challenging participating requirements, have traditionally limited the reach and effectiveness of clinical trials in the U.S., according to CVS Health Chief Medical Officer Troyen Brennan.

Less than 4% of the nation’s population takes part in clinical trials at all, and about 30% of participants drop out of studies before they are completed. The COVID-19 pandemic brought those deficiencies into sharper focus, Brennan said, and prompted the company to pursue a new model for testing medications and other therapeutics.

“Combining clinical trial expertise from across the CVS Health enterprise with our growing connection to the communities we serve will help create a new clinical trial experience that works better for participants, health care providers, clinical research organizations and study sponsors,” he said.

Company officials said they will leverage CVS’s national reach and commercial footprint to engage and recruit potential trial participants and decentralize options for the administration of Phase III and Phase IV clinical studies. The new business will also produce retrospective and prospective analyses measuring the impact of novel therapeutics and medical devices in real-world settings.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday where the Clinical Trial Services branch will be based or how many people CVS Health could hire to fill new roles in that unit.