Revolutionizing ophthalmology trials: How Fortrea and Verana Health transform site selection together
In the increasingly crowded landscape of ophthalmology clinical trials, finding the right research sites has become a significant challenge. With many ophthalmology studies funnelling through the same 40–50 established sites in the U.S., sponsors face intensifying competition for site attention and patient recruitment.
At Fortrea, we've pioneered a more intelligent approach through our strategic relationship with Verana Health that's changing the game in ophthalmology research.
Breaking New Ground in Site Selection
Fortrea proudly stands as the first CRO to team up with Verana Health, leveraging the power of the American Academy of Ophthalmology's IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight). This collaboration gives us near real-time access to curated, de-identified data in the U.S. that transforms how we approach site selection, protocol design, and patient recruitment strategies.
“By helping match sites based on patient data, Verana is helping our feasibility become a lot more efficient in ratio of site outreach to sites secured for retina trials.” – Brian Guthrie, Director of Strategic Delivery & Growth at Fortrea
From Cold Calls to Strategic Relationships
From the hundreds of studies Fortrea has supported in the last 5 years, experience has shown the need to approach substantially more sites than the target number. Within two years of our Verana Health partnership and optimized matching, we are projecting to drop the match ratio to nearly half of our previous ratio. This results in a better yield from outreach and a faster start-up timeline for trials. Our Verana Health relationship enables us to:
- Make data-driven "warm introductions" to sites with matching patient populations
- Reduce the pre-screening burden on research sites, allowing them to focus on patient care
- Identify and engage untapped research sites with strong potential for specific protocols
- Dramatically improve our outreach-to-secured ratio
Discovering Hidden Gems in Clinical Research
While experienced sites offer security and efficiency for many clinical trials, at Fortrea we’ve witnessed first-hand that research-naïve sites can sometimes become the highest recruiters in studies. With enthusiasm and untapped patient pools, these sites represent an extraordinary opportunity for sponsors looking to accelerate enrollment.
Fortrea combines Verana Health's data intelligence to identify research-naïve sites with our experience in training and supporting new sites, creating a powerful onboarding ecosystem that brings fresh energy to clinical research while maintaining quality standards.
Beyond Site Selection: Protocol Optimization
Our partnership extends beyond site identification to strengthen protocol design itself. By modeling potential study populations through the IRIS registry, we can test different protocol iterations and eligibility criteria before site activation begins—identifying potential challenges and optimizing designs for successful execution.
The Fortrea Difference
In a field where efficiency and precision matter deeply, our relationship with Verana Health represents Fortrea's commitment to transforming ophthalmology clinical research through data-driven innovation. For sponsors facing the challenges of site competition and patient recruitment, our approach delivers tangible advantages that accelerate development timelines while reducing site burden.
We're not just finding sites—we're creating strategic matches based on real patient data that benefit everyone involved: sponsors, sites, and ultimately, patients waiting for new treatments in ophthalmology.