[Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 6, 2023]

CMIC Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan; President: Akihisa Mitake; below, “CMIC”) has entered into an agreement with the National Cancer Center (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan; President: Hitoshi Nakagama, M.D., D.M.Sc.; below, “NCC”) to establish an infrastructure for online clinical trials, as part of Decentralized Clinical Trials. CMIC will support the implementation of online trials for rare cancers being developed by the National Cancer Center Hospital (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan; Director: Kazuaki Shimada, MD, PhD; below, “NCCH”).

As detailed in a June 27, 2023 NCC press release entitled, “Start of online clinical trials for rare cancers: enabling patients to participate in investigator-initiated trials conducted by the NCCH while being in the community” [1], the NCCH has begun two online investigator-initiated trials for rare cancers. In conjunction with the start of these trials, CMIC is building trial-related systems and supporting several aspects of the trials, such as coordinating between the NCCH and remote hospitals p (called as partner centers) and drafting procedures.

[1] https://www.ncc.go.jp/jp/information/pr_release/2023/0627_1/index.html

Development of Investigational Products for rare cancers are typically developed through clinical trials conducted at sites located predominantly in urban areas. Due to geographical factors, patients residing in other areas have sometimes be forced not to participate in clinical trials. Consequently, both patients with rare cancers who wish to participate in clinical trials and medical centers who wish to encourage participation in trials are seeking ways to improve regional disparities in clinical trial participation, a state of affairs that spurred the search for methods to achieve this goal. NCCH has taken the initiative in conducting clinical trials for rare cancers, which face unmet needs due to the small numbers of patients. With trials now being conducted online, it is expected that a greater number of patients who wish to participate in trials will find it easier to do so.

■CMIC’s efforts related to decentralized clinical trials

With the goal of achieving patient-centric medical care, CMIC is utilizing e-solutions and actively collaborating with advanced technology vendors in areas such as online medication and eConsent, etc. In addition to proposing these e-solutions, CMIC is also supporting the design and operation of decentralized clinical trials for sponsors.

CMIC will continue to support the introduction and facilitation of online clinical trials in Japan, doing everything it can to expedite the development of novel drugs for patients.

■About CMIC Group

CMIC was founded in 1992 as the first contract research organization (CRO) in Japan. To enable pharmaceutical companies to develop better medicine sooner, we expanded our solutions to include contract development and manufacturing (CDMO), site support, and market solutions, supporting global companies to bring highly desired treatments to the Japanese market.

CMIC has also entered into the healthcare arena. Leveraging our vast experience and expertise in the medical industry, we offer solutions using a new ecosystem of healthcare to support the individuals and local governments. We strive to be a Personal Health Value Creator (PHVC) to meet our global customers’ needs in the U.S., Japan, and broader Asia. CMIC Group has over 7,500 employees and 28 sites globally. For more information about CMIC Group and services, please visit our website: https://en.cmicgroup.com/