Gulf Coast residents have borne – and continue bear – the brunt of Hurricane Katrina. But
make no mistake about it – the Hurricane is a national disaster because it tests our concept as
Americans of our national identity:
•
One Country. Americans are Americans no matter where we live, without regard for race, creed or color.•
Caring. We donate of billions of dollars and billions of hours to charities without any legal obligation.•
Individual Initiative. In perhaps no other nation are individuals so empowered to take leadership roles without asking for anyone's permission.•
"Can Do" Attitude. We pride ourselves on our ability to tackle and overcome tough challenges.In this spirit, pharmaceutical and biotech companies reacted quickly to the Hurricane,
committing over $50 million of money and medical supplies, as well as thousands of hours of
staff time within a few days. Individuals in the clinical research industry have made many,
many personal contributions of time and money. However, few people in clinical research have
yet perceived that Hurricane Katrina is also a huge opportunity to build the clinical research
community
Giving a hitch-hiker a ride out of the New Orleans floodwaters creates a qualitatively different
relationship than sitting next to that same person at an industry conference. Hurricane Katrina
gives the clinical research industry the opportunity to move beyond a community of conference
attendees to become an extended "band of brothers." Writing a check to a public relief fund is
admirable, but it is also possible to leverage – at no extra cost – that same contribution into
countless personal relationships that tie the community together.
The clinical research community is like any other business community, so can serve as a
broader example. It includes pharmaceutical (and biotech and medical device) companies,
academic and private clinical research sites, contract research organizations (CROs) and other
suppliers, government funding and regulatory agencies, research subjects, and over 130
industry associations and 110 publications that serve the community directly or indirectly.
Unlike most other industries, however, many participants play dual roles: Most research
investigators are practicing physicians, so they have a dual supplier/customer relationship with
pharmaceutical companies and study participants. Study participants are also patients, so they
also have a dual relationship with both research investigators and pharmaceutical companies.
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Published in PharmaVOICE