COVID-19 CEO Letter
Patricia Leuchten
Founder and CEO, The Avoca Group
March 25, 2020
This is an update on how we are addressing the needs of Avoca’s clients and Quality Consortium Members, and the companies that we are working with as part of the Diligent® Qualification Platform, given the extraordinary circumstances that we face with COVID-19.
The Avoca Group Operations
Avoca and its global team of experts have delivered services in remote/virtual formats to our clients since its founding in 1999. There will be no disruption to our research and consulting practice, the work of the Avoca Quality Consortium®, or activities with the Diligent® Qualification Platform as a result of the need for social distancing and working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Avoca Quality Consortium (AQC)
The AQC is a pre-competitive collaborative comprised of over 120 diverse Member organizations. AQC has the following resources available to support our Members during the COVID-19 pandemic:
COVID-19 Rapid Response Working Group
- Avoca has established and will facilitate a Working Group that meets weekly in response to COVID-19 beginning Thursday, March 26th from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm EDT. Participants will share lessons learned and strategies for adapting processes and addressing clinical trial execution challenges.
- The intent is to enable the continuity of clinical trials with strategies and practical support, ensuring that there is a focus on patient safety, data integrity, and regulatory compliance as the COVID-19 situation evolves.
- Avoca has mobilized our panel of clinical trial Subject Matter Experts to support the Rapid Response Working Group, and we are making these experts available to individual organizations as short-term needs arise.
Online Community and Communication Platform, Aha!
- The Aha! platform was established in 2015 to enable virtual, cross-Member communication and collaboration. Questions regarding how to respond to execution challenges with COVID-19 can be asked of our 3,400+ clinical trial professionals across our 120+ Member organizations.
- Questions submitted to Aha! are monitored and directed to our Subject Matter Experts/Consultants so that they may provide their perspective. SME viewpoints are based on their wealth of knowledge in the clinical trials industry, their experience working with a diverse group of companies as part of the AQC, and their experience gained through Avoca’s consulting practice.
- In addition to asking questions, individuals, through Aha!, can share strategies for being proactive as the situation with COVID-19 evolves.
AQC Leadership Advisory Boards, Workstreams, and the AQC Knowledge Center
- All AQC Workstreams will monitor the near and long-term impact of COVID-19 on clinical trial execution and adjust priorities and deliverables accordingly.
- All Rapid Response Working Group information and any subsequent work product will be published in the AQC Knowledge Center for all Members to access.
Avoca Technologies
- The Diligent® Qualification Platform and eLuminate™ eLearning Platform are available to facilitate remote clinical service provider qualification and distance learning, respectively.
- We are evaluating our technology platforms for use in distributing strategies, lessons learned, updated standards, and best practices for clinical research professionals to address COVID-19 challenges.
Many of our clients and Consortium colleagues across the globe have been impacted on a professional level and some, on a personal level, with the spread of the coronavirus. Our thoughts are with you. Thank you for your trust in Avoca and in our work to support your clinical operations teams during a challenging time.
Sincerely,
Patricia Leuchten
Founder and CEO
The Avoca Group