Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness - Why every clinical trial needs to consider Middle East and African sites: Interview with Ahmed Hamouda

Why every clinical trial needs to consider Middle East and African sites: Interview with Ahmed Hamouda

08/25/21 • 25 min

Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness

Ahmed Hamouda

Ahmed Hamouda is the Head of Clinical Operations in the Middle East and Africa at RAY. In more than 10 years in the clinical research field, Ahmed has worked on both the CRO side and the pharmaceutical side in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, and Africa.

Ahmed brings the full range of his experience to bear at RAY, which provides outsourcing and consulting services to support pharmaceutical and biotech companies through the clinical trial development process. With RAY, Ahmed leverages his expertise to bring hope and opportunity to patient populations who would not otherwise be reached.

Episode Highlights

Why Africa and Middle Eastern markets represent a major opportunity for sponsors
What regulations and unique requirements sponsors need to understand before moving into these markets
How the site selection and preparation process is different in these markets as opposed to in the U.S.
The importance of partnering with qualified regional experts
The challenges involved in driving patient participation in these regions
How one rare disease clinical trial was saved by a move from the U.S. to the Middle East, and how that move paid off in terms of recruitment
Potential logistical issues with global trials and how RAY manages them
Why continuous education is so important for sites
How Ahmed and RAY estimate the timeframe for study startup in a new region
The unexpected positive regional outcomes of the pandemic

Resources:

Ray-CRO
Ahmed Hamouda on LinkedIn
Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness Interview Series

Ahmed Hamouda

Episode Highlights

Why Africa and Middle Eastern markets represent a major opportunity for sponsors
What regulations and unique requirements sponsors need to understand before moving into these markets
How the site selection and preparation process is different in these markets as opposed to in the U.S.
The importance of partnering with qualified regional experts
The challenges involved in driving patient participation in these regions
How one rare disease clinical trial was saved by a move from the U.S. to the Middle East, and how that move paid off in terms of recruitment
Potential logistical issues with global trials and how RAY manages them
Why continuous education is so important for sites
How Ahmed and RAY estimate the timeframe for study startup in a new region
The unexpected positive regional outcomes of the pandemic

Resources:

Ray-CRO
Ahmed Hamouda on LinkedIn
Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness Interview Series

Previous Episode

Increasing Access to People of African Descent in Pharma: Interview with Peju Oshisanya

Peju Oshisanya

Peju Oshisanya is a Director and Clinical Program Leader at BenevolentAI. With more than 20 years in the drug research industry, Peju is an expert in pharmaceutical organization. Her career has run the gamut from early roles as a clinical trial associate to extensive experience running a wide range of global clinical research programs. In her role at BenevolentAI, she pairs her biomedical science background with further perspective from the tech side.

Peju is a passionate proponent of diversity in data and inclusion in clinical trial research. She believes that problems of diversity and inclusion are fixable, and she has determined to become a champion of that change, working to raise awareness and dedicating her own career to upend the status quo.

Episode Highlights

Peju’s “aha” moment that drove home the magnitude of inequity in biopharma, health, and clinical trials
Why it’s crucial to really understand the communities that we want to include in research
How decision-makers’ personal perspectives influence which diseases are prioritized and which treatments are funded
Why representation needs to extend to the experts rather than stopping with the patient population
Why it’s misleading and counter-productive to frame populations using the term “minority”
How helping patients understand the importance of research in informing treatments can help motivate participation
The huge potential opportunity Africa represents for clinical trials
The problem of perception when it comes to African institutions’ preparedness
How mining past data can create a self-perpetuating cycle that prevents capable sites from becoming experienced sites
What we can do to help ameliorate diverse patient populations’ trust in the healthcare industry
How anyone, regardless of their role within a company, can take steps to influence diversity in research
How the pandemic has signaled hope for diversity and inclusion going forward

Resources:

Peju Oshisanya on LinkedIn
BenevolentAI
Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness Interview Series

Next Episode

Are Virtual SIVs the Future?: Interview with Jennifer Brandl

Jennifer Brandl is the Associate Director of Clinical Operations at Kezar Life Sciences. She has 15 years of experience as a researcher and clinical operations specialist, and she is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Data Science from the University of Wisconsin.

Jennifer credits her prior experience at a smaller biotech company with giving her a critical foundation in clinical conduct and study execution. At Kezar, she leverages this expertise and her passion for research to support the company’s development of pioneering therapies and to change the lives of patients.

Episode Highlights

The elements of Jennifer’s expertise that have especially helped her drive success in the trials she manages
The benefits of functional service provider outsourcing models
How Kezar’s patient-centric nature had the company well prepared to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic
The greatest challenges Jennifer and Kezar experienced due to the pandemic, and some positive outcomes
Important considerations for organizations exploring home health options
How communication and relationship-building form the foundation of clinical trial work
The challenges and benefits she’s experienced conducting site initiation visits virtually
How best to prepare before updating or transforming site initiation processes
What she believes is next for decentralized clinical trials
How automation and tech adoption can help extract more insight from data