Victoria Donovan
Founder and CEO
Clinically Media
Elevating Patient Recruitment for Clinical Research
The life sciences industry is quickly expanding, particularly in Colorado. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, life sciences companies in Colorado raised around $704 million and became “the 10th-largest life sciences market in the U.S.,” according to a report from CBRE. Victoria Donovan founded Clinically Media to support these sponsors and researchers, in Colorado and nationwide, to advance science and help people everywhere.
Based on the numbers, it was clear to Victoria that sponsors and researchers were absolutely in need of some help. According to a University of Pennsylvania study, around 86% of clinical trials do not reach their patient enrollment timelines. And the FDA reports that approximately only 25% to 30% of drugs make it past Phase III. Victoria, alongside the Clinically Media team, is championing innovative patient recruitment and retention solutions to enable sponsors and researchers to meet enrollment goals to further medical research and improve patients’ lives.
One area Victoria is specifically focused on is destigmatizing clinical research and building accessible and diverse clinical trials. For example, Victoria established a partnership with Uber Health so that Clinically Media’s clients and patients are able to provide and receive transportation to and from clinical trial appointments with ease. Clinically Media is continuously working towards improving accessibility to clinical trials, learning more about diversity and inclusion, and expanding efforts and impact.
Victoria is also constantly reflecting on how she can make everyone’s experience in drug development more pleasant. For clinical trial participants, she aims to make their experiences simple and positive from the time they discover a trial until their end of study visit. For biotech companies, she strives to expand upon ways to reduce their workload and decrease timelines on projects.
“I see my role in the pharmaceutical space as an opportunity to break down barriers to clinical trials—bringing a new perspective to clinical studies and connecting patients who may benefit the most to potentially groundbreaking treatments,” Victoria says. “Participants in clinical research are pivotal players in bringing new drugs to patients, and it’s important to me that that information is communicated through thoughtful, authentic messaging to reach high-quality patients.”
