A new clinical study is being conducted entirely via the internet, according to Knoll. Randomisation, data entry, drug distribution and trial monitoring for the international verapamil SR/trandolapril study (INVEST) is all being done online.
The company says that INVEST is "the first cyberstudy" and could become a model for future large scale trials, as it hopes that the online system will be rapid and efficient.
INVEST will compare the reduction in adverse outcomes (including death) over two years of two stepped strategies for treating hypertension - one based on a calcium channel blocker and the other on a beta-blocker. The aim is to recruit more than 20,000 subjects who have both hypertension and coronary artery disease.