RSV – respiratory syncytial virus, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms that typically resolve after 1-2 weeks. Often, people associate the virus only with infants and small children as it can be an extremely dangerous virus within these age groups, but older adults can also be at risk for more serious cases of RSV.

60,000-120,000 older adults in the United States are estimated to be hospitalized every year for RSV. 6,000-10,000 of them die every year due to the virus. Adults at the highest risk for severe RSV infection include older adults, adults with chronic heart or lung disease, and adults with a weakened immune system.

There are no vaccines currently available for RSV prevention and researchers are working to develop new vaccines that will be effective. Clinical trials are a key step in bringing new vaccines to market. ClinicalConnection was recently engaged by a sponsor to help recruit participants for a Phase 2/3 clinical trial to test the safety and tolerability of the company’s investigational vaccine to prevent RSV in adults 60 years of age and older.

Recognizing the urgency of patient recruitment and the challenges it faced, the Sponsor sought patient recruitment support with ClinicalConnection. Known for its PatientEdge™ database of motivated clinical trial seekers and long record of success in rapid patient recruitment, ClinicalConnection quickly began referring pre-screened individuals to research sites and continued to provide referrals throughout the 11-month recruitment period. A total of 3,339 older adults were screened from ClinicalConnection with 1,335 individuals passing the screener and consenting to being referred to study sites for follow-up. Impressively, this resulted in into the study.

The high number of randomizations translated to an 18% randomization rate higher than the referrals originating from other recruitment channels. Higher randomization rates reduce the workload for research sites and maximize efficiency, speed, and ROI.