Cardiometabolic development looks simple. It’s not.
Every year, promising cardiometabolic programmes stall or fail — not because the science was wrong, but because the trial design couldn’t keep pace with where the field had moved. Getting this right requires more than a CRO. It requires integrated scientific depth, operational precision, and a team that has seen these challenges from every angle. Today’s teams are navigating:
- Obesity trials where weight loss alone no longer differentiates
- Diabetes programmes where lowering HbA1c is no longer sufficient
- MASLD studies where the regulatory path is in flux
- Renal and hepatic impairment studies that sponsors chronically underestimate
- Placebo arms that are becoming ethically indefensible in long-term studies
Written by the team behind 300+ cardiometabolic trials.
The perspectives in this guide are grounded in decades of hands-on early-phase experience. Professor Thomas Forst — board-certified in internal medicine and endocrinology, former CMO at multiple leading clinical research organisations, and author of over 300 peer-reviewed publications — leads hVIVO’s cardiometabolic programme. hVIVO supports seven of the world’s ten largest biopharmaceutical companies, operating purpose-built early-phase facilities in London and Germany alongside a specialist consulting team.
