Managing the uncertainty in treatment exposure to increase success in clinical trials

Digital adherence monitoring, RBQM integration and the estimand framework to reduce trial variability and strengthen exposure response analysis.
Date
September 16th 2025
Time
17:00 (CET) / 11:00 (EST)
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OVERVIEW

Medication adherence is a critical driver of success in drug development and a fundamental component of trial integrity. Poor adherence introduces variability and bias that can obscure the true efficacy and safety of an investigational product, jeopardizing trial outcomes, regulatory decisions, and ultimately, patient care. Despite its significance, adherence is often underestimated or poorly monitored, with reliance on traditional methods such as pill counts and self-reporting that lack precision and reliability.

This webinar will examine how medication nonadherence should be proactively addressed as a key risk within a Risk-Based Quality Management (RBQM) framework, in line with the quality-by-design principles outlined in the ICH E6(R3) Good Clinical Practice guidance. We will explore how integrating adherence risk into trial design, monitoring, and data review processes enables early detection and mitigation of issues that could compromise scientific validity.

 

Adherence directly affects drug exposure, making it a central factor in interpreting trial outcomes. Intercurrent events like missed doses, treatment interruptions, or early discontinuations complicate estimations of treatment effect. By incorporating adherence data into the ESTIMAND framework of ICH E9(R1), sponsors can more accurately assess efficacy and safety, even in the presence of suboptimal exposure.

 

A standardized, data-driven approach to adherence, using real-time electronic monitoring systems, allows researchers to distinguish between expected variability and clinically significant nonadherence. These digital tools provide continuous, high-resolution dosing data that surpass traditional monitoring methods, offering feedback loops for patients and investigators, optimizing dose-exposure analyses, and improving decision-making in adaptive trial designs.

 

Real-time adherence data supports more credible and efficient trial conduct. It helps reduce unnecessary variance, enabling smaller sample sizes and more robust exposure-response modelling. It also enhances interim analyses by providing a clearer picture of drug effect and patient behaviour, helping avoid premature termination of trials and guiding post-trial analyses.

 

Join us to learn how embracing adherence as a measurable and manageable component of trial quality can enhance your clinical development strategy, reduce trial risk, and increase the likelihood of success in today’s evolving regulatory and scientific landscape.

Reserve Your Seat
Addressed Challenges
01Insufficient monitoring of patient adherence, which introduces variability and bias that can obscure true efficacy and safety signals, risking trial failure. 
02Reliance on traditional adherence methods such as pill counts and self-reporting, which lack the precision needed to support reliable exposure-response analysis. 
03Difficulty incorporating adherence data into operational decisions and Risk-Based Quality Management strategies aligned with ICH E6(R3) guidance requirements. 
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
01 Recognise how nonadherence undermines trial integrity and learn methods to quantify and manage uncertainty in treatment exposure across patient populations. 
02Explore how digital adherence technologies generate objective, reliable data to support risk-based quality management in line with ICH E6(R3) requirements. 
03Understand how adherence data can be integrated into the estimand framework outlined in ICH E9(R1) to strengthen the statistical interpretation of trial outcomes. 
SPEAKERS
Clinical trial adherence webinar
Rakhi Kilaru, MS, MBA
Executive Director, Statistical Science, Biostatistics and Programming Clinical Research
Bringing over 20 years of extensive clinical trials expertise, Rakhi Kilaru is pillar head for statistical science in the Biostatistics and Programming group at PPDTM clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Her leadership spans Phase II–III studies across dermatology, cardiovascular, neuroscience, and inflammatory disorders. Ms. Kilaru is a recognized expert in centralized statistical monitoring and statistical surveillance methods, championing quality-by-design approaches. A former statistician in Duke Medicine, she has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including a 2024 review on quality tolerance limits in clinical trials. An active leader in the American Statistical Association’s Biopharmaceutical section, she holds an MS and MBA and serves on multiple scientific committees.
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Bruce Binkowitz, PhD
Vice President of Biometrics at Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc
Dr. Bruce Binkowitz earned his Ph.D. from the Rutgers School of Public Health in 2000, and in 2022 was honored by the RUSPH with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Binkowitz has over 30 years of drug development experience, and is currently the Vice President of Biometrics at Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. Prior to joining Arcutis, Dr. Binkowitz was the VP of Biometrics at Shionogi, Inc., after spending the majority of his career at Merck and Co. He has worked across all phases of drug development and across multiple therapeutic areas including dermatology, oncology, respiratory, metabolism/diabetes, cardiovascular, and ophthalmology. Dr. Binkowitz is recognized as a thought leader on the topic of multiregional clinical trials, culminating in being co-editor of the textbook “Simultaneous Global New Drug Development”. Dr. Binkowitz is a 2015 fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and was the 2020 Chair of the Biopharmaceutical Section of the American Statistical Association. Prior to earning his Ph.D., Dr. Binkowitz earned a Master’s degree in Statistics from the University of Florida, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics/Statistics from Rutgers College. He has established a School of Public health scholarship for Masters degree public health students to honor Dr. George Rhoads. Please consider donating at https://give.rutgersfoundation.org/pledge-payment/20795.html
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Richard C. Zink, PhD
Principal Research Fellow at JMP Statistical Discovery LLC
Richard C. Zink is Principal Research Fellow at JMP Statistical Discovery and has spent more than 20 years in and around clinical trials and medical product development. He is author, editor, and contributor to 9 books on statistical topics in clinical trials and clinical research. Richard holds a Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he serves as Adjunct Professor of Biostatistics and Adjunct Assistant Professor for the Department of Public Health Leadership and Practice. Richard was awarded the distinction of Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 2020.
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Bernard Vrijens, PhD
CEO and Scientific Lead at AARDEX Group
Bernard Vrijens pioneered a research program focused on a simple but robust taxonomy of common dosing errors, along with exploring optimal measurement-guided medication management that can drive adherence and maintain long-term persistence. With over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers and six patents to his name, Dr. Vrijens is also a founding member of the International Society for Medication Adherence (ESPACOMP) and an active contributor to several EU and US-funded collaborative projects, cementing his status as a leading authority in the field
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