Doctor,Examining,Patient,Skin,Moles,With,Dermoscope

Dermatology CRO Research and Treatment Development

Improving quality of life for dermatology patients

Patients with dermatological conditions such atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and pemphigus vulgaris face psychological trauma that compounds their physical suffering. Alleviating this suffering drives our team’s commitment to work with you to bring new treatments to patients in need.

CRO with extensive dermatology experience and capabilities

PPD has a deep understanding of the challenges of dermatology drug development.

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Dermatology trials we have conducted

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Patients we have enrolled

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Investigators we have worked with around the world

Put the patient first in atopic dermatitis trials

By layering in the lived patient experience, our indication champions take trial strategy to the next level.

Expanding patient access to dermatology clinical trials

PPD is positioned to help sponsors complete dermatology studies rapidly and successfully, with extensive experience in dermatology clinical trials; an international network of sites with dermatology experience in key indications, such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis; access to a large database of potential trial participants; and a commitment to tailored trial design. Through our relationship with AES, a business unit of PPD, our customers can receive 50–100% of their entire trial enrollment from one accountable solution, delivered by clinical research locations that operate uniformly across the globe.

Discover seven strategies to increase patient diversity in dermatology clinical trials

PPD’s dermatology clinical research experience

PPD has a deep understanding of the challenges of dermatology drug development and has dedicated global board-certified dermatologists, highly experienced professionals and a range of investigator sites worldwide to support trials for organizations of all sizes across a broad range of indications. Our dermatology experience includes work with biopharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and academic organizations.

In the past five years, PPD’s dermatology team has performed trials for 28 pharmaceutical and biotech companies across all regions, including North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Learn more about PPD's dermatology experience and capabilities

Understanding the challenges of dermatology drug development

PPD has experience with the decentralized model in dermatology studies. The dermatology team uses tailored clinical trial design solutions, including e-consent, televisits and remote assessments to complete clinical trials remotely without compromising efficiency. The decentralized model shows promise in mitigating some of the burden and cost of traditional methods while preserving the quality of oversight. Going forward, we expect more sponsors to start pushing for the use of hybrid solutions with a combination of site-based and remote activities as they seek to meet the evolving needs of patients around the world.

As the clinical landscape continues to evolve, PPD has the resources to conduct dermatology clinical trials in many ways, including traditional bricks and mortar, hybrid and fully decentralized models. Our experience with eCOA, ePRO, telemedicine approaches, hybrid virtual trials, e-consents, electronic medical records and remote source document verification (rSDV), among others, has enabled us to rapidly convert traditional trials to decentralized trials during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, our experience, pooled knowledge and access to patients has allowed PPD to quickly pivot in response to unexpected and changing situations, providing the support and insight needed to address heightened risks and keep clinical trials on track.

Broad indication expertise in dermatology clinical studies

PPD continues to build out areas of expertise to ensure we provide sponsors with the highest quality, most efficient clinical study design, management and operations. PPD continues to expand site networks to enable rapid enrollment by focusing on high-performing site relationships and seeking new ways to overcome the seasonality effect associated with dermatology trials, including leveraging sites in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres so that subjects can be enrolled continuously despite seasonal changes in individual countries. Our comprehensive dermatology experience spans a broad range of indications including:

  • Psoriasis
  • Prurigo nodularis
  • Hidradenitis suppurativa
  • Atopic dermatitis
  • Pruritus
  • Actinic keratosis
  • Glabellar lines
  • Dermatomyositis
  • Pemphigus vulgaris
  • Epidermolysis bullosa

Meet the PPD dermatology team

Sophia Tono, M.D.
Medical Director, Dermatology Pharmacovigilance
Rose Blackburne, M.D., MBA
Vice President, Global Head of General Medicine/Dermatology
Michael E. Kuligowski, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, FAAD
Vice President, Medical and Scientific Strategy, Dermatology

Dermatologic conditions represent a leading cause of disability worldwide. It’s an exciting time in dermatology product development where unmet medical needs in psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and other diseases can be addressed with novel molecules, monoclonal antibodies, JAK inhibitors and other products that work across the inflammatory pathway.

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