Decentralized Clinical Trials World Congress Europe

2nd Decentralized & Hybrid Clinical Trials 2026 Europe

Redefining Clinical Research Through Decentralization, Technology, and Collaboration

London, United Kingdom

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Co-located with the 8th Patient Centricity & Collaboration World Congress 2026 Europe

2nd Decentralized & Hybrid Clinical Trials World Congress 2026 Europe

Introduction
Insight
Who Should Attend

Dear Colleagues,

Facilitate Live is very pleased to welcome you to our upcoming 2nd Decentralized & Hybrid Clinical Trials World Congress 2026 Europe.

DCTs continue to transform the landscape of clinical research by enabling studies to be conducted beyond traditional trial sites. This flexible approach allows participants to complete study activities from home, local healthcare facilities, or nearby laboratories reducing or eliminating the need to travel to a central research location. Supported by virtual collaboration among investigators and local medical teams, DCTs leverage digital health technologies such as mobile applications, wearable devices, telemedicine, video consultations, and home health visits. Together, these innovations expand access to diverse participant populations and accelerate the collection of high-quality real-world data in a more cost-effective and patient centric manner.

As decentralized protocols gain global traction, they are redefining patient engagement by offering greater flexibility and choice —particularly valuable for individuals with rare conditions, mobility limitations, or those living in remote areas. The advantages of DCTs are far reaching, including reduced barriers to participation, improved diversity and inclusion in clinical trials, enhanced recruitment and retention, opportunities to study low-prevalence diseases, shorter development timelines, faster access to innovative therapies, and improved data accuracy—all contributing to more efficient and equitable healthcare delivery.

However, DCTs also bring new considerations. Trial design must address the complexities of data collection, management, and interoperability across multiple digital platforms. Variability in technology use can affect data quality, and participants may face challenges using connected devices correctly. Therefore, researchers must ensure that consent, data entry, and withdrawal processes are intuitive and patient friendly. Strong data privacy and cybersecurity measures are essential to safeguard sensitive information. Ensuring participant safety, managing potential technology failures, and maintaining regulatory compliance across jurisdictions remain critical priorities. Additionally, hybrid approaches should continue to accommodate participants who prefer in-person visits or require additional support using digital tools.

The 2nd Decentralized and Hybrid Trials World Congress 2026 – Europe will convene leading experts, regulators, technology innovators, and patient representatives to discuss strategies, share best practices, and showcase new technologies driving the next phase of decentralized research. Attendees can look forward to an engaging, collaborative, and forward thinking exchange of ideas designed to advance the global adoption and impact of DCTs.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Decentralized & Hybrid Clinical Trials World Congress 2026 Europe

Sincerely yours,

Jocelyn Raguindin
Conference Director
Facilitate Live

GAIN LATEST INSIGHTS ON:

Overcoming Implementation Barriers: Identify and mitigate common hurdles in adopting decentralized research.
Enhancing Participant Experience: Improve convenience, engagement, and support for patients in DCTs.
Optimizing Communication and Productivity: Address challenges in communication and workflow efficiency within decentralized trials.
Navigating Regulatory Landscape: Understand current and emerging regulatory guidelines for DCT compliance and ethics.
Ensuring Patient Safety and Data Integrity: Assess the impact of decentralized elements on safety and implement measures to reduce errors.
Achieving Patient-Centricity: Balance research efficacy and participant well being in DCTs.
Driving Growth and Success: Foster the continued success and expansion of decentralized clinical trials.
Broadening Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Leverage technology to enhance participant diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Key Planning and Execution Milestones: Understand essential milestones for successful DCT planning and execution.
Industry Collaboration and Leadership Insights: Network with leaders to gain operational insights and ethical guidance on Hybrid & Full DCTs.
And much more...

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This Congress will provide information to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, researchers, physicians, institutional review boards (IRBs), patient organizations and advocates, and regulatory agencies about the implementation of Decentralized Clinical Trials.

Network with members of the boards, VP’s, Directors, Heads/Chiefs, and Senior Managers of leading Pharmaceuticals and Biotech Companies, Government, CRO’s and Solution Providers Involved in:

Decentralized Clinical Trials Operations
Hybrid Trials
Clinical Data Management
Clinical Development & Operations
Clinical Trial Tools & Technologies
Clinical Strategy
Patient Engagement
Data Management
Digital Health Process & Solution
Clinical Research
Statistical Scientist
Regulatory Affairs
Clinical Studies
Clinical Operations
Clinical Trial Site
Trial Designs
Patient Advocacy
Consultant
Clinical Research
Global Development Solutions
Electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment (eCOA)
Contract Research Organizations

Medical Affairs, Global Patient Advocacy & Alliances
Government Policy and Advocacy
Digital Patient Experience Lead
Clinical Insights and Experience
Head of Strategy, Access Services
Product Lifecycle
Patient and Disease Registries
Scientific Affairs
Electronic & Medical Records
Lab & Biomarkers
Medical and Pharmacy data
Clinical Supply Chain Management
Digital Strategy and Engagement
Patient Recruitment and Retention
Academia
And much more...

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Schedule

Content Rich Program Agenda! Featuring Keynote Presentations, Stream Sessions, Panel, and Round Table Discussions.

Day 1 25/02/2026
Day 2 26/02/2026

Auditorium 1

8:30 am - Registration

8:45 am - Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

Amelia Hursey, Strategic Director, parkinsonseurope.org

Regulation, Collaboration, and Patient Engagement

9:00 am - REGULATORY INSIGHT PANEL: EMA, National Regulators, and Harmonization under the Clinical Trials Regulation (CTR)

Key updates on the CTR and its practical implications for DCT operations
Coordinating approvals via the Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS)
Managing ethics submissions and multi-country compliance challenges
Building trust and transparency through harmonized EU oversight

Moderator:

Alexandra Charge, Chief Executive Officer, ISPEP

Panelist:

Khadija Rantell, Senior Statistical Assessor, MHRA

Elizabeth Theogaraj, Regulatory Senior Group Director, Roche

9:30 am - OPENING KEYNOTE: Designing Patient-Centric DCT trials: considerations for the use of digital outcome measures

MHRA patient involvement strategy
Current landscape and regulatory considerations

Khadija Rantell, Senior Statistical Assessor, MHRA

10:05 am - CASE STUDY SESSION: Industry's perspectives: DCT elements in Clinical Trials

Decentralised elements in Clinical trials
Industry’s perspectives in adopting DCT elements in Clinical Trials
How European regulators are enabling DCT adoption
EFPIA Recommendation Paper on Advancing the Use of Decentralised Elements in Clinical Trials

Elizabeth Theogaraj, Regulatory Senior Group Director, Roche

10:45 - MORNING NETWORKING REFRESHMENTS

11:25 am - Empowering Patients Through Digital Inclusion and Health Equity*

Reducing barriers to participation for rural and aging populations
Strategies for multi-language patient interfaces and digital inclusion
Leveraging telehealth to improve representation in rare disease studies
Building national digital literacy programs for broader engagement

Prof Gary Middleton, Clinical Network Lead, ECMC

12:00 pm - SPONSORED SPOTLIGHT: Technology Deep Dive: Digital Tools Powering DCT Operations

Advances in validated wearables, eConsent, and ePRO platforms
Interoperability with hospital EHR systems
Ensuring MDR/IVDR compliance for medical device-linked technologies
Real-world deployment case studies from multicountry trials

12:35 pm - PLENARY SESSION: Are decentralized and hybrid trials feasible for rare cancer patients in Europe and the UK?

Governance, regulatory and clinical frameworks
Ethical perspectives
Operational feasibility

Emma Kinloch, CEO, Salivary Gland Cancer UK

1:10 pm - NETWORKING LUNCH

2:10 pm - PLENARY SESSION: Achieving Patient-Centricity: Balance research efficacy and participant well-being in DCTs and Hybrid Trials.

Bullet points to follow

Lewis Millen, Head of Clinical Innovation & Digital Solutions, UCB

2:45 pm - From Five Letters to Global Impact: DHDDS

A five letter code: what a diagnosis unlocks
Building momentum: patients, science, collaboration
From repurposing to personalised medicine: progress, promise, and barriers in ultra-rare treatment development
Why speed matters: the cost of waiting

Melanie Dixon, Trustee, Cure DHDDS

3:20 pm - AFTERNOON NETWORKING REFRESHMENT

4:00 pm - PLENARY SESSION: Reimagining the Patient Journey in Decentralized Research

Blending virtual and in-person interactions to enhance experience
Supporting patients through multilingual, digital, and in-clinic channels
Ensuring safety, adherence, and satisfaction in hybrid environments
The path toward a unified, inclusive European patient-centric model

Nadya Isack, Patient and Public Involvement (PPIE) Advocate, Founder, Empower Health Initiative CIC, Person living with Obesity

4:35 pm - CASE STUDY: Integrating Patient Perspectives in Early-Stage Decentralized and Hybrid Trials

This talk will explore how patient insights can guide the design and implementation of decentralized and hybrid clinical trials from early development stages.
By incorporating the patient perspective, sponsors can adapt endpoints, visit schedules, and participation burden to better reflect real-world needs, improving recruitment, retention, and overall patient satisfaction.
Practical examples will be shared demonstrating how decentralized approaches — including digital tools, telemonitoring, ePROs, and wearable devices — can be leveraged to enhance efficiency, accessibility, and engagement.

Laura Risueño Ayerbe, Global Patient Affairs, Patient Engagement R&D, Servier

5:10 pm - PANEL DISCUSSION: Building Collaboration Among European CROs, Sponsors, and Technology Partners

Fostering pan-European ecosystems for DCT service delivery
Integrating SMEs and digital health star tups into large-scale trials
Coordinating cross-border logistics, training, and support networks
Establishing standardized performance and quality metrics

Moderator:

Dr Sondra Butterworth, Community Psychologist, CEO, RareQoL

Panelist:

Fiona Adshead, Chair, Sustainable Healthcare Coalition

Dimitris Christodoulou, Digital Health Business Lead, Roche

5:50 pm - Chairperson's Closing Remarks

Amelia Hursey, Strategic Director, parkinsonseurope.org

Auditorium 1

8:30 am - WELCOME COFFEE & REGISTRATION

8:50 am - Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

Robert Mitchell-Thain, CEO, PBC Foundation

TECHNOLOGY, OPERATIONS AND FUTURE OUTLOOK

9:00 am - OPENING PANEL: Sustainable by Design: Environmental Sustainability in Clinical Trials Through Collaboration, Innovation and Action

Turning sustainability goals into measurable action requires, more than intent, it demands collaboration, innovation and integration across every stage of the clinical trials process.
This presentation and panel discussion brings together leaders from across the clinical research landscape to explore how environmental consideration are being embedded into trial operations in practical, scalable ways.
The session will explore how to use available tools, such as the clinical trials carbon calculator to assess and reduce trial emissions, discuss how to decarbonise the patient journey from recruitment to retention and build cross-sectoral partnerships to scale sustainable solutions.

Moderator:

Fiona Adshead, Chair, Sustainable Healthcare Coalition

Panellist:

Carly Santer, Strategic Initiatives Project Leader & Sustainability Activator, Bayer UK
Joanna Bell, Project Manager, Sustainable Healthcare Coalition
Hugh Whetherly, Sr Consultant, Product Sustainability Team, ERM
Senior Representative, NovoNordisk

9:40 am - CASE STUDY: EDIRA: Whose Voice Is It Anyway?

This talk explores what it really means to undertake inclusive research in practice, drawing on the work of EDIRA
– the Equality, Diversity and Inclusive Research Association. Building on three EDIRA events, it traces a journey
from EDIRA-23 Barriers to Inclusion, to EDIRA-24 Building Trust, to EDIRA-25 Book of Doers who are changing
how research is conceived, designed, and delivered.
The focus for EDIRA-26
Throughout, the session the underlying theme will be based on a central question: “Whose voice is it anyway?” – challenging delegates to examine whose voices are centred, whose are marginalised, and how lived experience can be recognised as core research expertise rather than an optional add on.

Dr Sondra Butterworth CEO & Founder, RareQoL (Rare Quality of Life) and EDIRA (Equality Diversity and Inclusive Research Association)

10:15 am -KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Clinical Trial Diversity & Digital Accessibility

Diversity is a key success factor in clinical trials: advancing science and medicine through a variety of lived experiences and living conditions – particularly, people with disabilities. Digital accessibility design standards for patients with disabilities can be critical to clinical trial access, engagement, adherence, and measurement. With the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines(WCAG) design standards for Information & Communication Technologies.

WHY: disability inclusion in health equity
WHAT: clinical trial digital ecosystem
HOW: inclusive design standards

Dr. Stephen Framil, Corporate Global Head of Accessibility, Merck & Co., INC

10:50 - MORNING NETWORKING REFRESHMENTS

11:30 am - PLENARY SESSION: Enhancing Patients Recruitment and Retention in Clinical Research

Identify structural barriers to recruitment and retention in clinical research.
Develop strategies to enhance recruitment and retention of individuals.
Feasible approaches to improve patient retention in clinical trials.

Mohamed Sharaf, EMEA Regional Senior Medical Advisor (Immunology), J & J

12:05 pm - SPONSORED SPOTLIGHT: Strategic planning and budgeting to facilitate participants access to DCTs

Expanding inclusive strategies to improve DCT participation across Europe.
Embedding AI and digital tools into modern trial planning.
Identifying savings from reduced site visits and remote operations.
Balancing tech investment with patient engagement costs.
Tracking shifts toward adaptive, risk-based DCT budgeting.

RESERVED

12:40 pm - Using UK real world data to facilitate decentralised and hybrid trials

How electronic healthcare record (EHR) data from UK primary care practice has been used to find and recruit eligible patients for clinical trials, provide follow-up data to ascertain clinical trial outcomes, support safety monitoring and for external control arms.
Key regulatory considerations around data quality when using EHR data to support clinical trials.

Puja Myles, Director, Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), M H R A

13:10 pm - Networking lunch

2:10 pm - PLENARY SESSION: The Patient Perspective on Decentralised trials and how do we set up future clinical trials for success?*

This presentation will examine the patient perspective on decentrialised trials, including:

Traditional Clinical Trial Design vs Decentralised Trial Design and how this affects the patient’s role as a participant.
Patients’ needs when participating in clinical trial and how this should shape decentralised trial.
What to be aware about as a sponsor when designing a decentralised trials?
How does the future clinical trial look like and how does this affect the different stakeholders in clinical trials?

Rasmus Hjorth, Head of Communication, James Lind Care

2:45 pm - The Participation Equation: Driving Engagement in Modern Clinical Trials

The session focuses on how participants experience trial burden, support, and value, and why these factors directly impact recruitment, retention, and data quality.
The session concludes with practical guidance on how sponsors can operationalise patient preferences to move from patient-informed to truly patient-ready trial design and delivery.

Alexandra Charge, CEO and Co-Founder, ISPEP

3:20 pm - AFTERNOON NETWORKING REFRESHMENT

3:30 pm - FIRESIDE CHAT: Public–Private Partnerships for DCT Advancement

How can collaboration between regulators, industry, and academia accelerate DCT innovation across
Europe?
What funding and infrastructure models best support large-scale decentralized trial adoption?
How can shared digital platforms improve data interoperability and transparency?
What role will EU initiatives like Horizon Europe and IMI play in sustaining long-term DCT growth?

Senior Representative, Health Research Authority

4:10 pm - CLOSING PANEL & FUTURE OUTLOOK: Charting the Road Ahead – Decentralization as the New Standard of Care

How are decentralized trials evolving from pilot initiatives to Europe’s new research standard?
How can decentralized models be effectively integrated with national healthcare systems?
How can AI and real-world data enhance adaptive and data-driven study design?
How can transparency and data ownership strengthen patient trust and engagement?
How will decentralized trials become a core pillar of the European Health Union?

Moderator:

Puja Myles, Director, Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), MHRA

Panellists:

Carole Sian Scrafton, Director & Co-Founder, Flutters and Strutters

Lorna Pender, Medical Director, AOP Health
Senior Representative, Alexion

4:50 pm - Chairperson’s closing remarks

2nd Decentralized & Hybrid Clinical Trials World Congress 2026 Europe

Co-located with the 8th Patient Centricity & Collaboration World Congress 2026 Europe

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Full Access - 2 Day Conference
All Day Refreshments & Lunches
Conference Documentations
Networking Drinks Reception

Full Access - 2 Day Conference
All Day Refreshments & Lunches
Conference Documentations
Networking Drinks Reception

Full Access - 2 Day Conference
All Day Refreshments & Lunches
Conference Documentations
Networking Drinks Reception

Full Access - 2 Day Conference
All Day Refreshments & Lunches
Conference Documentations
Networking Drinks Reception

Testimonials

what people say

Thank you for a good experience with the PARADIGM Global Events… very high level, very good Organization, we overpassed our expectatives, we will be pending for another congress related to pharmaceutical and biotech… we learned a lot, and i think that the content of agenda was state of the art, thank you again.

Salvador Berrios

ERP/ CRM / Product Configurator Manager

The consistently high quality of international faculty was most impressive. It was also obvious that they were carefully chosen not only for their particular expertise but also for their ability to communicate the subject matter to clinical and non-clinical participants alike. As market access consultant for pharma clients of various sizes, I now feel much better prepared to explain the nuances & dynamics involved in bringing their products to market. In addition, I am in a much better position to intelligently advice my clients & help them set realistic expectations

Thomas Martin

Associate Vice President, VCGA - Quintiles

I was impressed with the organization of this event. I attend many conferences per year and find the organizers on site to be detached and not focus on good service to the delegates. This team was even providing weather forecast warning to ensure everyone was aware and made appropriate plans. Well Done.