While he’s a firm believer in the entire clinical trial process, for Carlos Orantes, Chief Executive Officer at Alcanza Clinical Research, there’s an unmistakable ‘magic’ to be found in late-stage trials. “You’re that much closer to bringing lifesaving and enhancing drugs and devices to patients by collaborating with other dedicated professionals,” he says.
In fact, Orantes is a big fan of collaboration across the clinical trial ecosystem. “I see so many opportunities for collaboration, not just within the industry, but even with competitors,” he says. It’s the prospect of taking collaboration to the next level that has Orantes so excited about being a founding member of the Association for Multisite Research Corporations (AMRC).
Carlos Orantes, Chief Executive Officer at Alcanza Clinical Research
“One of the things that excites me about AMRC is having all of us contributing to a better understanding of multisite clinical research organizations,” he says. “We’re collaborative competitors!”
The power of the clinical trial industry when it collaborates was demonstrated clearly by its united response during the Covid-19 pandemic, Orantes notes. However, while many outside the sector cheered on the industry and learned more about it, Orantes fears many of those lessons and insights have evaporated as fears over the pandemic dissipated.
“Even though we had so much publicity during COVID, [many people have] either forgotten it or it’s back to the same old just status quo, when clinical trials had a lower public profile,” he says. “People do not appreciate all the testing that takes place to get drugs and other treatments safely to patients.”
Fortunately, Orantes also sees opportunity in this scenario. “I think we have to carry the torch to make sure that the importance of the industry is widely understood. Not just us as clinical site networks, but also sponsors, CROs, technology partners, the FDA, NIH, and many other groups. Everybody needs to do their share to make sure that people are aware that clinical research is out there [as] a healthcare alternative,” he says.
Clinical research as a care option is a viable and often unexplored realm.
“Many people who come in to participate often don’t go to a doctor because they don’t have access to one, fear it, or can’t afford it,” Orantes says. Those potential patients are generally unaware of clinical research as a possible way to get the care they need.
Orantes thinks it’s on institutions to do a better job of educating healthcare professionals about the value of clinical trial research for patients. “It’s a shame that even teaching hospitals don’t include clinical research as part of their curriculum,” he says. He believes they should prepare doctors so that when they go out into the industry and start treating patients, they can talk to them about clinical research.
“Alcanza means Reach in Spanish, and our purpose, our mission, is to reach potential participants around each of our clinical research locations.” At Alcanza, Carlos is excited to be part of an organization committed to bringing the benefits of clinical trials to a broader population.
The MCRC has a clear vision for promoting clinical trial access.
“Our ideal situation is to reach the same demographics or research that exists around each of our sites. We really want to reflect the communities around each site,” Orantes says. “Alcanza believes research should be accessible to all,” he stresses.
