Pratia Bulgaria, a journey with Martin Kosturski (Part 2)

Continuing our journey from Gabrovo to Sofia. I continue chatting with Dr. Martin Kosturski, MD – the Country Head of Pratia Bulgaria, about his adventure in Clinical Trials. The Bulgarian business is since 2021 part of Pratia Global Network – a platform for innovative medicine, uniting Patients, Investigators, and Sponsors through a mixed site model and state-of-the-art technology.

What is the main advantage of the Pratia platform in Bulgaria for the Sponsors?  

Martin: The massive advantage of the platform is that, for example, if you have a particular disease and treatment for it within a Clinical Trial – our competitors rely on the databases of their clinics, medical centers, hospitals, etc. On the other hand, we rely on our Patient database created over the years work closely with the local medical healthcare system. This way, we can recruit a considerable number of Patients requested by the Sponsors. The screen failure processes get lower because our Physical Investigators and Doctors with whom we collaborate are prescreened.  
For instance, there are some diseases that Patients do not know if they have or can be treated. For Example – COPD. COPD is treated mostly within Clinical Trials. There are particular inclusion/exclusion criteria that a Doctor is aware of. This way, the local Physician or specialist can already prescreen a Patient and recommend them to a Clinical Trial – minimizing the screen failure rate.  

I guess that the mixed site model that we offer in Bulgaria is quite different than our competitors present on the market?  

Martin: Yes, our mission is to expand our already good network of Site models in Bulgaria that you had mentioned. For instance, we have a study that can be done on hospitalized Patients within our 14 embedded hospitals. At the same time, we have a vaccine trial which can be done in 5 of our medical sites. If we want to conduct a hematology or oncology study – we can run it simultaneously in our Oncological Unit or our embedded hospitals.  

Hence, we are highly flexible, and we can cover almost 90% of the therapeutic areas. In 90% of the cases, we can help the Sponsor find suitable patients with the proper indication and treat them with our medical doctors. 

Our Patient database created over the years work closely with the local medical healthcare system via our relationships. This way, we can recruit a considerable number of Patients requested by the Sponsors. The screen failure processes get lower because our Physical Investigators and Doctors with whom we collaborate are prescreened.

How many Principal Investigators and Doctors does Pratia Bulgaria work with?  

Martin: Over 130. Together with sub investigators, the number can exceed over 200. 

We can cover a massive chunk of the population because these doctors are active. This is one of the most significant advantages of such close relationships. 

These relationships are built on trust and years of collaboration. Our local teams and coordinators support the Physicians with all the paperwork administration. Thanks to this, Doctors can spend more time with the Patients. They do not have any gaps during the procedures or preselection visits.  

This is our mission: The Patients can feel better when they spend more time with the Doctor, who can answer all their questions?  

How many trials have you conducted in Bulgaria over the past ten years?  

Martin: So, in Gabrovo, we celebrated our 10th anniversary of the first randomized Patient in December 2021. We are proud to have conducted over 400-500 trials over the years.

What do you think about the future of decentralized trials? Is it valid for Bulgaria since the country is easily accessible?  

Martin: Definitely, we are prepared as an organization for decentralized trials.  

What kind of challenges for the Sponsors can Pratia Bulgaria solve immediately?  
Martin: Flexibility of our mixed site model that we offer. We have good coverage of the population. We cover about 90% of Therapeutic Areas and are prepared for hybrid model studies. We can do everything to protect all the expectations and meet the number of Patients that our Sites should recruit.  

Do you want to know more about Pratia Bulgaria? Stay tuned to our next post!!

Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about what con Pratia Bulgaria can do for you, contact our Team.