Evrima CEO and founder Charlotte Bradshaw is passionate about patient experience in clinical trials. Photo: Kimberley Leahy.
A Kiama tech entrepreneur is giving hope to people with health conditions by promoting clinical trials as treatment options which could also lead to medical breakthroughs and improved access for the broader community.
Ever since Charlotte Bradshaw first stepped foot in a clinical trial research organisation she has been passionate about the impact the industry could have on people.
“I could see people that were having a fantastic patient experience just by being part of a clinical trial,” she said.
“Then ultimately it’s amazing when you do hear of those announcements that trials that you’ve been part of that have progressed and that treatment then becomes available to the people that need them.
“You feel like you are contributing to something much bigger than yourself.”
After working a stint in the corporate world and building a professional network, Charlotte constantly felt drawn back to clinical trials, and in 2019 decided to take a leap and start her own company, Evrima.
The organisation focuses on connecting participants, researchers and clinicians to trials right across the country, to optimise the experience for all.
Tens of thousands of trials have been conducted in Australia over the past two decades, with this research critical in proving treatments are safe and effective before being approved by regulators and offered to patients.
“Clinical trials are absolutely vital to get any potential new therapy or device to the market and for doctors to prescribe and get into the hands of people that need that treatment,” Charlotte said.
“What’s important to know is only a fraction of trials are successful and only a fraction of those prove safe and effective and then get to market, so it’s quite a lot of research to get a new medicine to market.”
But with limited awareness about what clinical trials are out there or how to get involved, finding appropriate participants can be difficult.
The struggle with recruitment not only means that important research could be delayed, but potential participants could be missing out on therapies and treatments which are not yet available in the market and would otherwise be inaccessible.
“If people are suffering and putting up with a condition whether it’s a quite serious condition in a hospital setting or perhaps it’s something like mild asthma that they have to manage for their entire life, or coeliac disease, the trials that are taking place can be a potential option,” Charlotte said.
Charlotte is advocating for better awareness to promote more conversations between medical professionals like GPs and their patients to explore clinical trials as a treatment option, not just for research.
“We want to consider this similar to people donating blood – we all know where to go, why it’s important, how to get involved,” she said.
Clinical trials are conducted across Australia with settings appropriate to specific projects, whether it be a hospital, university or general practice.
But Charlotte would also like to see the Illawarra better utilised to be a hub in the industry.
“We continue to see a majority of trials in metro areas; I would love to see in years to come that spread increases across regional areas as well,” she said.
“We have a great population; lots of people would be interested in research so we need to promote the region as a destination to conduct the research.”
To find out more about current clinical trials visit the Evrima website or talk to your healthcare provider.
