Companies and organisations continue to report clinical trial disruptions across the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These disruptions are being caused by a number of factors including delayed initiation, enrollment suspension, and slow enrollment, according to GlobalData.

GlobalData’s recent global survey of key opinion leaders in the pharma industry found that the total number of clinical trials disrupted showed slow enrollment was the top reason, followed by enrollment suspension and lastly delayed initiation.

Scotty Chung-Siu, MPH, Senior Analyst at GlobalData comments, “As there are more clinical trials in oncology, it is not surprising that it is the most disrupted of the therapy areas. The main challenge has been providing the necessary cancer care during the pandemic. Finding the necessary resources such as ventilation systems and even staff is an ongoing challenge for most healthcare providers.”

Out of all therapy areas, GlobalData has found that oncology leads the way in global clinical trials disruption due to the pandemic. Phase II has the most disrupted global clinical trials in oncology, followed by Phase I, III and IV.

Chung-Siu continues, “Globally, North America far exceeds all other countries when it comes to multinational and single-country disrupted clinical trials, due to more trials being completed in this region. Europe is second, followed by Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America.”