Demystifying Decentralized Clinical Trials: Interview with R’Kes Starling of Reveles Clinical

R’Kes Starling joins Kelly Ritch, EVP of Product and Clinical Research Solutions at ArcheMedX, to discuss how decentralized clinical trials (DCTs) can expand access to clinical trials and promote patient participation. He shares the personal experiences that motivated him to found Reveles.

R’Kes also recounts a poignant story of a patient who was empowered and given hope through decentralized clinical trials. Further, he describes how he and his company are working to overcome the hurdles on the path to DCTs.

Anyone wondering whether DCTs are right for them will appreciate R’Kes’s take. It unites his personal and professional experiences in a perspective that is both empathetic and firmly grounded in reality.

Enjoy this interview by video below, or by subscribing to our podcast on Simplecast, Spotify, or iTunes.

R’Kes Starling

R’Kes Starling, RPh, MBA, is the founder and CEO of Reveles Clinical Services, a technology and service provider working to “bring hope closer to home” by improving access to clinical trials through DCT-focused services. Prior to founding Reveles, R’Kes held leadership roles at McKesson, Coram CVS, and DaVita. Through Reveles, he has become a DCT evangelist educating the industry on both how and why to move forward with DCT.

Episode Highlights

• The industry and operational challenges facing the adoption of decentralized clinical trials.
• How inconsistent nomenclature has contributed to widespread misunderstanding of DCT, and how misnomers have slowed adoption.
• The challenge of change management and how clarity and infrastructure can be an antidote.
• How decentralized clinical trials can help boost minority representation in clinical trial research, and why shifting those numbers requires time.
• How sponsors can get started with DCT and what they need to consider.
• Assessing organizational fit.
• Why it’s so important to talk with the patients and understand the challenges they face.
• Why DCT and patient-centric approaches so often go hand-in-hand.
• How patient engagement is changing, and why clinical trials need to adapt to that.
• How sites have been forgotten as stakeholders and why they’re still central to clinical development.

Resources:

Reveles’ Decentralized Clinical Trials Grader
Reveles on LinkedIn
R’Kes Starling on LinkedIn
Conversations in Clinical Trial Readiness Interview Series