Beyond the Pilot: The Evidence Base for Decentralized Clinical Trials Has Arrived
A May 2026 study by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development and Science 37 examined 28 trials that paired a direct-to-patient (DTP) virtual site with conventional sites. DTP sites enrolled roughly six times as many participants as the average traditional site, completed studies at a rate of 86.3% versus 35.7%, and reached database lock approximately four months faster.
When decentralization is built as a genuine access model rather than bolted onto a traditional protocol, it moves recruitment, retention, diversity, and timelines all at once. Three key developments since the post-pandemic DCT era help answer which capabilities deliver and how to operationalize them under the new regulatory framework.
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