There are various stakeholders involved in the operation of a clinical trial. The trial will ordinarily be initiated and funded by a sponsor – in the commercial sector this is usually a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical device company – who is ultimately responsible for the trial.

Most trials will utilize the services of a Contract Research Organization – a CRO – to set up and oversee the research on behalf of the sponsor.

Even in the era of Decentralized Trials – DCTs – the vast majority of trials are conducted at research sites.

Many trials will also utilize the services of a patient recruitment solutions provider – in order to attract people to take part.

And then there’s the key stakeholder – without whom the whole industry wouldn’t even exist – the trial participant. Commonly referred to as the patient.

In the next few videos I’ll look at each of these stakeholders in turn.