Life Sciences – Phase 1 Clinical Studies
Pfizer
Levels implemented :
L2 – Tactical | L3 – Operational
Services used :
Process Consultancy | Technical Consultancy | Custom Development | Training and Support | IT and Hosting
Products used :
APS | TRP | TEA | DWH | ARA | API | CDA | ADM | LDP
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They lead in
Pfizer is a leading business in the Life Sciences Industry. Pfizer conducts clinical trials and boasts two
Clinical Research Unit sites. The first is located in New Haven in the United States, and the second is
located in Anderlecht, Belgium.
Situation
Both Clinical Research Unit sites use Excel to schedule Phase 1 clinical trials. The plans are very
complex and need to respect very thorough execution protocols. Excel becomes too heavy to allow
the planners to make the most of the costly and rare resources to conduct the studies, be they
internal or external (like CROs).
Task
Pfizer Clinical Research Unit (or PCRU) wanted to benefit from a solution that automatically generated an optimal plan for both sites. They sought to decrease planning time while making better use of their available capacity, in order to reduce the time-to-market for new molecules and medicines. Thanks to this new planning system, Pfizer aims to generate reports and statistics more easily. In a second phase, they would also need to replace their operational planning system to benefit from a fully integrated tactical and operational planning system.
Action
Phase 1
In a first phase, we propose to implement PlanningForce Tactical on both sites, and at the head of
Pfizer’s Clinical Research Unit. The head of Pfizer’s Clinical Research Unit will therefore obtain full
visibility to monitor the resource usage taking place on both sites and will be able to test how to
further optimize it. All stakeholders, such as recruitment, pharmacy, laboratories, and PMs have
access to the plan. PlanningForce also proposes to create a wizard that will help carry out these tasks
at a faster pace and with greater ease.
Phase 2
In a second phase, PlanningForce covered day-to-day operational needs with a new module called OSA (Operational Staff Allocation). This new module is integrated with the other tools in place to manage day-to-day operations. It can be used to plan and schedule all activities related to clinical studies, to match required skills with staff already trained, and to plan future training to meet needs.
Phase 3
Thirdly, PlanningForce has covered workload anticipation by coupling clinical study planning with advanced, intelligent procedures designed for each department. The latter know in advance whether they have sufficient resources or whether they need to recruit or train, how many and when. Information can be displayed digitally and graphically at department level, or consolidated across the entire unit.