Study Dashboard for Sponsors

Earlier this week, Slope announced the general availability of the Study Dashboard for Sponsors as part of the Slope clinical trial execution platform. This blog will discuss the problem it solves and its value. Then we will take you through a click-by-click walkthrough of how you would use the product and the insights that can be gained. 

The Problem It Solves

While managing clinical supply chains, sponsors of complex, sample-intensive clinical trials deal with a significant amount of information. This information can increase exponentially when coordinating multiple clinical trials across multiple research sites. Gaining actionable insights from this information can be challenging when using traditional manual processes, which include error-prone spreadsheets, emails, and phone communications. The Study Dashboard for Sponsors helps solve this problem by delivering accurate, real-time data in an interactive interface that is easily navigable in just a few clicks.

The Value of the Study Dashboard for Sponsors

Using the Study Dashboard for Sponsors provides you with real-time visibility into the progression of clinical supply inventories, subject procedures, and biological samples so you can:

1. Ensure your research sites have the lab kits, investigational product (IP), devices, and ancillary and other clinical supplies they need based on patient demand
2. Identify high- and low-performant research sites based on their clinical supply inventory management, waste levels, and biological sample collection practices
3. Monitor the chain of custody of biological samples, how quickly they progress through their journey, and resolve issues before they negatively affect the outcome of the clinical trial

Click-by-Click Walkthrough

The Study Dashboard for Sponsors supports drill-down from a list of your research study protocols into detailed clinical supply inventory and biological sample data for each research site supporting the study. This capability allows you to gather the information you need to take meaningful action. This walkthrough will show you the insights you can gain and will be organized as follows:

• Research Study Summary
• Biological Sample Details
• Sample Journey Chart

Research Study Summary: What one click can show you

Logging in and clicking on the research study you want to inspect will bring you to the landing page which summarizes key clinical supply performance metrics for the research study and each research site.

Research Study Metrics are at the top of the landing page for at-a-glance data on research study progress. These metrics show the number of subjects enrolled, biological samples collected, clinical supply items used, destination labs, and suppliers across the entire research study. 

Research Site Metrics are located below the study metrics on the landing page and provide insights into inventory and biological samples for each research site. For each of these metrics, you can filter by research site or status, and sort from high to low for easy navigation.

• Inventory Metrics show three sets of data that provide distinct insights into each research site’s clinical supply inventory and can be used in conjunction with each other.

1. Turnover Rate tells you the amount of time that each research site takes to use all of its clinical supply inventory. You can use this to compare and gain insights into high- or low-performing research sites.
2. Waste metric shows the percentage of each research site’s clinical supply inventory that expired before it could be used. When this percentage is particularly high for a given research site, this provides insight that might lead you to intervene in order to prevent future waste—adjusting supply orders, increasing subject enrollment, or possible issues with research site workflows.
3. IP On Hand allows you to see how much IP each research site has, which can give you insights into each research site’s readiness to receive subjects.

• Biological Sample Metrics on the righthand side shows the number of biological samples that have been Registered, Stored, and Shipped by the research site, and Delivered to and Received by the destination lab. This metric can point to issues on the research site level or receiving lab level, such as samples stagnating in one state which might require further drill-down in the Study Dashboard for Sponsors.

Biological Sample Details: What your second click can show you

Clicking on the Samples tab at the top of the landing page brings you to biological sample details, which allow you to see all collected biological samples and their associated data. You can search for a specific biological sample Barcode or Subject ID and filter by Sample Type, Site, or Sample State. Using these features allows you to efficiently locate biological samples at a research site or within a shipment, and further investigate any issues you notice from the landing page.

Biological sample details show you the following:

• Sample Type such as pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, hematology, chemistry, genomic, tissue, skin, and punch
• Subject ID representing the patient the biological sample was taken from
• Visit that denotes the time point procedure
• Collected includes the date and time the biological sample was collected
• Site at which the biological sample was collected
• Sample State shows the current state of the biological sample such as registered, staged, shipped, delivered, or received

Sample Journey Chart: What your third click can show you

Clicking on a specific biological sample brings you to the Sample Journey chart, which is a graphical representation of the chain of custody for that biological sample as it progresses from state to state along with its associated details. Using this feature provides deeper insights for understanding biological sample states, allows you to monitor the chain of custody for each biological sample, and permits you to view any issues and where they occurred for efficient intervention. 

The Sample Journey chart also allows you to see the following for each biological sample:

• State such as registered, staged, shipped, delivered, or received
• Action details for each state including the date, time, and the person at the research site, courier, or receiving lab that progressed it
• Location details associated with each state, including geographical location, tracking ID number with a link to the courier’s website if available, and associated shipping e-manifest
• Sample Alerts if there are issues such as slow state transitions

Summary

As you can see, the Study Dashboard for Sponsors delivers unique and accurate insights into clinical supply inventory at research sites, the performance of research sites, and the chain of custody of biological samples. This powerful new capability gives sponsors the ability to pinpoint potential issues before they become significant problems and take proactive action in order to reduce clinical trial risk, control costs, improve the productivity of clinical trial stakeholders, and increase subject enrollment and retention.

To Learn More 

To learn more about Slope and the value it can bring to your clinical trial supply chain:

• Visit the Slope clinical trial execution platform webpage
• ‍Contact us and talk to one of our clinical trial solutions experts to see a live demonstration