PHARMACY POTENTIAL

Icon Group’s nation-wide pharmacy services allow the Group to deliver a true end-to-end research model. With long-standing relationships with hospital, pharmaceutical and manufacturing, Icon provides a collaborative and connected ecosystem conducive to quality management of clinical trials.

Pharmacy Practice Unit

The Group’s Pharmacy Practice Unit (PPU) Central Clinical Trial Support Team was established in 2022 with oversight on all Icon Group pharmacy clinical trial activities to ensure compliance with clinical trial regulations, guidelines, and procedures. The implementation of the team has allowed the expansion of clinical trial support services to include start up activities in most Icon Group pharmacies who conduct clinical trials and incorporates feasibility review, budget and contract negotiations, the establishment of billing processes, and provides training and support for all pharmacy team members.

Future direction will see a focus on the continued implementation of the Group’s PPU Central Clinical Trials Support Team with an aim to assist sites with specialised clinical trial tasks, particularly in relation to contracts and invoicing. The team will also create further awareness of trials involving Phase I products and other products that may require special handling to maintain a high level of quality control. This centralised support will allow pharmacy team members onsite to dedicate more time to patient care and other essential clinical trial tasks.

The key to the success of pharmacy support of clinical trials will involve the development of a road map and the establishment of a reporting, governance and risk management tool, and new policies and procedures. In 2023, the team will roll out support to an additional 10 Icon pharmacies which run over 180 active trials. This support will include additional training and ensure appropriate Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training is completed.

Sponsored Clinical Trial Fee Schedule review

The sponsored clinical trial fee schedule was updated after a major review and adopted across all Icon Group pharmacies. This review addressed several emerging issues, in particular the increasing complexity and time required to compound certain trials. Other measures included - introducing a tiered pricing system to give clearer guidance to staff on budgeting accordingly and upskilling team members on addressing payment issues for complex compounding, in particular dose escalation studies requiring a high number of vials.

Trials transition of Grey Street and North Sydney pharmacies

The clinical trials team successfully transitioned the Grey Street and North Sydney new pharmacy sites along with their 16 established clinical trials from an alternative pharmacy provider. In addition to systems and process support, a range of communication and training activities took place to support team members to effectively navigate the transition.