We live in a golden age of drug development and medical progress. However, as an industry, we will struggle to capitalise and benefit from these innovations if sites remain a bottleneck in the clinical trial process.
At the beginning of 2015, Clinicaltrials.gov listed 181,218 trials on its platform. By the beginning of 2025, the site listed 520,889. This 187% increase in the number of trials and the medical and commercial impact of new treatments clearly show why we are in the golden age of drug discovery.
However, one aspect of the industry is struggling to keep up with this pace: the traditional clinical research site business. In contrast to the increasing trend in the number of trials, the sites the majority of trials need to rely on are struggling to keep up with the challenges and pressures created by increasing study complexity, regulatory requirements, increasing operational costs, and growing emphasis on patient diversity and efficiency.
At FutureMeds, we are building the future of a patient-centric clinical research organisation differentiated by our capability to deliver studies efficiently anywhere on the spectrum from site-centric to virtual trials. There’s no other fully owned, independent, dedicated site network in Europe that also offers a proven decentralised service with over a decade of experience in bringing trials to patients’ homes.
“Increased volume of new trials, more biotech clients with little or no clinical research experience and increased complexity of the study protocols demand new ways of trial execution. Nowadays, the model of single investigator sites with no logistical- and technology support or conducting studies in big teaching hospitals creates a bottleneck for effectively bringing new therapies to the market. One of the solutions is moving to more industrialised, dedicated site-based research and using the decentralised approach. FutureMeds gives flexibility, combined with a strong European presence and deep local expertise, which enables us to address the industry’s most pressing challenges while keeping patients at the heart of everything we do.”
— Dr Radoslaw Janiak, CEO at FutureMeds
At FutureMeds, we are excited about the years ahead, the strategic value we can deliver for our clients and the impact we can create through our solutions.
Key Milestones
The FutureMeds’ model has been validated by years of growth, close partnerships with top-tier CROs and our growing patient communities who share our purpose of bringing quicker access to the world's most innovative medicines and improving the quality & longevity of people's lives.
“In 2024, we achieved dynamic growth by strengthening our client relationships, providing more collaborative solutions and increasing trial accessibility for patients. Our continuous improvements included operational vaccine excellence, new TA strategies, expedited start-up tactics, enhanced data-driven feasibility, and the expansion of Decentralized Operations and virtual study solutions. These improvements helped us deliver more efficient clinical research solutions and enrol more participants while reaching more diverse patient populations across our countries.”
— Iwona Tongbhoyai, Chief Client Solutions Officer
Key 2024 milestones we are proud of:
As an organisation, we conducted over 200 trials
Our Dedicated Research Site teams randomised 4720 patients across 116 trials
FutureMeds @home, our DCT solution, contributed to 93 studies and delivered 1440+ home visits
We soft-launched a new oncology program in an ambulatory setting that aims to break down patient barriers in oncological clinical trials
To improve outcomes for Patients, Clients, Partners and our People, we rolled out FutureMeds Promise of Progress: The Progress P.A.C.T, the guiding framework and value system of our culture
Further improved our Quality Management System and passed all audits and inspections with no critical findings: 3 Inspections (2 FDA, 1 Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Korea), 10 Sponsor audits, 1 BVMA Germany (Bundesverband der Pharmazeutischen Industrie), 1 Regulatory Inspection on Ukraine, 2 Client audits in DCT department
Deepened partnership with NHS in the UK and leading private hospital networks, such as Viamed Salud in Spain
Expanded strategic partnerships with leading sponsors and CROs through collaborations in cardiometabolic, vaccines, immunology studies
Deepened cross-functional, cross-country collaboration to improve the flow of information and speed of internal progress
“Going forward, we are building on our momentum with targeted investments in data driven patient retention, diversity, and sustainability. Additionally, we are expanding FutureMeds @home, our decentralised research solution, and implementing effective AI solutions in close collaboration with our clinical research partners.”
— Iwona Tongbhoyai, Chief Client Solutions Officer
Dedicated Research Site Solution
Traditionally, Sponsors and CROs need to balance the operational efficiency of larger networks with the flexibility and localised expertise of smaller sites. This can lead to trade-offs, bloat in the site mix, and increased pressure to avoid selecting individual sites that could ultimately fail to meet enrollment expectations.
To mitigate against the above risks, FutureMeds’ dedicated site network has been built to offer the best of both worlds. We protect the autonomy of sites whilst providing them with centralised support that enables efficient, flexible trial delivery. By combining the local expertise of our autonomous teams with our significant operational infrastructure, FutureMeds is uniquely positioned to support large, multi-site clinical trials without losing the ability to tailor solutions to local realities.
To strengthen our contribution to research, in 2024 we
Built synergic cooperation with the hospitals in Spain, Bulgaria and the UK, combining rich hospital diagnostic offers with the complexity of the highly specialistic protocols to create additional life-saving opportunities for the local patient populations
Increased oncological readiness at 7 sites across our network. 3 of these sites have been activated in their first clinical trials in lung cancer and breast cancer. The next three are now fully prepared to succeed in the same indications in 2025.
Have developed expertise in vaccine delivery and enrolled 2.500+ patients in four protocols in various indications, like flu, RSV and norovirus, in five countries by building an engaged team of experts in infectious disease prevention and the patient population within our database interested in combating threatening viral diseases
“2024 was a year of achieving further milestones in our unstoppable growth, where we leverage market trends to deliver innovative and desired therapies to patients in need regardless of therapeutic indication, geography, or cooperation model with healthcare partners.”
— Wojciech Szczepanik, Executive VP of Site Operations
Taking Trials to Patients' Homes with FutureMeds @home
![Iwona Tongbhoyai, Chief Client Solutions Officer, [left] and Nicole Bohrmann, Director of Decentralised Operations [right] on a mission to boost decentralised trial adoption across Europe](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d3734c_c9fa1999626248ce9072ba6e89069709~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_980,h_736,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/d3734c_c9fa1999626248ce9072ba6e89069709~mv2.jpeg)
After streamlining processes to support our continued growth, increasing set-up capabilities across Europe and playing a pivotal role in supporting fully virtual trials, in 2025, our focus will be improving the adoption rate of decentralised trials in Europe, strengthening client relationships, and expanding our services to better support our partners and patients.
“FutureMeds @home now has the set-up capability to cover the large majority of Europe with both nurses and physicians, ensuring seamless support across the continent. Our teams have been working hard to be able to activate new countries within 2-4 weeks outside of our 18 European countries we traditionally operated up till the beginning of 2024.”
— Nicole Bohrmann, Director of Decentralised Operations
New Oncology Program
Although the participation of cancer patients in clinical trials is crucial for advancing new treatments that enhance outcomes for all patients, and even though the majority of the population with cancer is estimated to be inclined or very willing to participate in clinical trials, participation has remained between 2-8% over several decades.
Building on our team’s decades’ worth of experience in operating dedicated research sites, increasing PIs’ ability to focus on research and boosting trial efficiency, FutureMeds launched a new program: oncology trials in the ambulatory setting. Based on patient feedback, this is the missing link in the oncological landscape.
As a complimentary solution to the traditional hospital-based approach, our hypothesis is that oncology trials in ambulatory settings will help:
Close the efficacy-effectiveness gap (patient populations included in clinical trials are mostly not representative of the majority of patients treated in routine care)
Increase patient convenience and provide a sense of “normalcy.”
Provide a platform for broader decentralized element adoption in oncology trials
There’s certainly more to be done on the journey of elevating this approach to industry standard. However, the early implementation results and the patient and PI feedback are promising.
FutureMeds Krakow, one of our Tier 1 oncology sites in Poland, achieved second-best global recruitment rates in their trial, successfully randomizing 12 subjects in under a year while competing primarily against hospital-based sites in 2024.
FutureMeds' Promise of Progress: The Progress P.A.C.T.
As we build a clinical research company that is set out to transform how the industry engages, enrols and retains patients in trials, our company culture and values are becoming an integral part of our strategy.
In early 2024, we launched the Progress P.A.C.T, our organisation’s commitment to improving outcomes for Patients, Clients, Partners and our People. FutureMeds also appointed an experienced Group HR Director to our executive team to strengthen our commitment to people development and enable the company to scale through a strategic focus on increasing the health of our organisation.
Besides the Progress P.A.C.T’s impact on our client relationships, operations and performance, as a result of years long culture development, over 80% of our colleagues said that they would recommend FutureMeds as a great company to work for.
"Our people are our greatest asset. In 2025, we will prioritise developing talent and enhancing colleague experience. We aim to co-create an environment where growth and collaboration thrive, allowing everyone to contribute meaningfully to the growth of our company and our contribution to medical progress."
— Melanie Manners, Group HR Director
Helping People Live Longer, Healthier, Happier Lives
There are few missions more important than helping people live longer, healthier, and happier lives. Whichever crisis or condition we're faced with, the need for speed in clinical research is crucial - every second lost is an opportunity missed to enhance the quality or longevity of someone's life.
As part of our work to transform trial efficiency and patient experience across Europe and connect world-leading partners with highly experienced local research teams and their patient communities, we are committed to using our collective knowledge, compassion and expertise to create an unrivalled level of service for partners and patients.
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