The “New Normal” for

Clinical Research in the

Wake of COVID-19
We surveyed 100 clinical trial
investigators in the Citeline
Engage network to gauge the
“new normal” and expectations
for clinical research

87% of clinical trial investigators expect trial

operations to normalize by early 2021

30% 30% 27%

Expect
Expect normalization
normalization
within next
by
3 months 6 months Early 2021

Nearly half expect to return to business as usual

39%
of investigators anticipate
Neutral Negative their capacity for clinical
51% 39% research to decrease due
to COVID-19, which
should be accounted
for during planning

COVID-19
impact on
ability to serve
as a clinical trial
7%
believe
investigator clinical
research
will be a
greater focus

Also, 64%
of investigators
said that
COVID-19 will
Other Positive not impact which
3% 7% trials they will
take on in the future

But business as usual will evolve with

most investigators expecting various
changes to clinical trials

69%
More hybrid/
35%
Leaner protocols
24%
Greater industry
6%
Other/No
virtual trial with less endpoints focus on patient change
designs burden

44% of investigators expect patient enrollment will

become even more difficult; but at the same time,

believe a shift toward hybrid/virtual trial designs

will increase patient interest in and access to
69% clinical trials. As a result, recruiting experienced
investigators with significant patient counts will be
more important than ever.

Comfort level with digital tools/software to support virtual trials

About a third
of clinical trial
investigators are
5% Not comfortable at all
26% Somewhat comfortable somewhat or not
comfortable with
digital tools and
software to
support virtual
trials – an important
topic to address with
35% Comfortable
investigators during
35% Very comfortable
Note: Total percentage does not sum to 100% due to rounding
trial planning.

Only 9% of investigators are very confident that Sponsors and

CROs can shift toward hybrid/virtual trials quickly

Nearly 50% of investigators are not

experiencing delays in ethics committee/IRB
reviews for non-COVID-19 trials
No, there
are not
delays Yes, there are delays
45% 29%

For those experiencing delayed

reviews, timelines are typically
extended by an additional 3-5 weeks

49%

30%
Unknown 22%
26%
Additional Additional More than
1-2 weeks 3-5 weeks 5 weeks

Source: Survey results of Citeline Engage investigators conducted in May 2020