The Nordic countries often come out on top in innovation league tables, and yet many regional companies struggle to gain the attention of potential global partners beyond Europe. This story describes how Nordic values of teamwork and transparency enabled LINK Medical’s specialized team to overcome the challenges of a highly complicated and critically important pediatric clinical study. This success story – over multiple years and clinical phases – led to the attraction and retention of a major international partner.
LINK Medical is a clinical research organization (CRO) rooted in Nordic values of mutual respect, integrity, and a strong focus on solutions. These values, personal relationships and superior outcomes are evident in our recent partnership with a large international pharmaceutical company. The company was investigating the clinical efficacy of a rare disease treatment in a pediatric population. Setting up the clinical trial of our client’s drug product presented significant challenges, not least of which was patient recruitment within a very short timeframe in an intensive care setting. Across the global study sites, this required gaining the trust and consent from parents with different cultural backgrounds, all in an extremely stressful situation. The other significant challenge was recording accurate data for a patient group consisting of individuals with differing comorbidities and treatment plans.
In order to overcome these challenges, a dedicated team was set up to work in close collaboration with the study sites and the client itself. The personal and consistent connection we form means that our client can rely on a trusted partner who they know are just as passionate and knowledgeable about the project as they are. The team we assigned to the study carefully trained employees at sites around the world on how to approach obtaining parental approval for patient recruitment. Communication was vital here, as it required understanding the very different needs of parents in different countries, some with low trust in institutions.
We were also open with our client regarding the challenge of recording accurate data in this complex study. To achieve this, we recommended dedicated specialists on every ward at every site. We have also engaged in training that helped doctors to understand how to record the large amounts of data obtained. Our collaborative efforts provided crucial support for our client; in total, over 100 patients were successfully enrolled across the study sites and our client was able to obtain the required clinical data using the innovative Viedoc EDC. Our work and technology greatly contributed to the overall success of the study.
The original Nordic team has remained intact throughout the study, working together with the same integrity and passion from the very beginning. The exceptional outputs of our dedicated team have made it stand out in the delivery of complex clinical trials and led to us being approached again by the same company to help deliver another important project. This is a clear example of how hard work, good relationships and strong values can allow a mid-sized Nordic company to meet and surpass the expectations of a large, multinational partner.
