Running a successful clinical trial depends on having secure, compliant access to the right medicines. For many studies, this means sourcing comparators. Most often the current standard of care, but sometimes co-therapies or other marketed products required by the protocol. Without reliable comparator supply, trials risk delays, cost overruns, or regulatory setbacks.
Akesa helps sponsors, contract research organisations (CROs), and clinical trial pharmacies access comparator medicines efficiently and compliantly, ensuring your study stays on track.
What Is a Comparator?
A comparator is the reference medicine used in a clinical trial to evaluate a new therapy.
It may be:
- A registered product already in market (standard of care (SOC)).
- A co-therapy used alongside the investigational product.
- A product needed to establish safety, efficacy, or cost-effectiveness.
Comparators provide the benchmark against which innovation is measured, making their availability critical to clinical research.
The Complexity of Comparator Sourcing
Obtaining comparators isn’t as simple as ordering a product off the shelf. Challenges include:
- Regulatory and licensing restrictions that vary by country.
- Parallel trade risks and supply chain diversion.
- Expiry dating, labelling, and packaging requirements specific to each trial.
- Volume and continuity of supply across multiple sites and geographies.
Without the right partner, these factors can delay trials and increase compliance risks.
Case study: Securing comparators for a global oncology trial
A leading pharmaceutical sponsor required ongoing supply of a widely used oncology medicine, the standard of care for patients in its target indication, across more than 15 trial sites in multiple countries.
The challenge
In complex clinical trials, comparator sourcing is rarely a straightforward procurement exercise. When the medicine in question is the established standard of care, it sits at the intersection of high commercial demand and strict clinical requirements, making consistent, compliant supply across multiple jurisdictions a genuinely complex undertaking.
- Differing import regulations across jurisdictions.
- Risk of supply disruption due to regional shortages.
- Need for trial-specific packaging and expiry alignment.
Akesa’s solution
Rather than working through intermediary channels, Akesa engaged directly with the originating manufacturer and licensed wholesalers in each relevant market.
- Engaged directly with manufacturer and licensed wholesalers to establish compliant supply routes.
- Implemented a sourcing strategy that avoided parallel trade risks.
- Project-managed outsourced labelling and repackaging to meet protocol-specific requirements.
- Coordinated logistics to ensure on-time delivery across all trial sites.
The outcome
With a resilient supply model in place and logistics coordinated site by site, the sponsor was able to maintain focus on trial execution rather than supply chain management, exactly where their attention needed to be.
- Continuous comparator supply maintained throughout the trial.
- Reduced risk of regulatory delay or product substitution.
- Sponsor gained confidence in reliable trial execution.
Akesa’s approach
Akesa provides end-to-end comparator sourcing solutions tailored to your protocol and region.
Services we provide
- Comparator and standard-of-care (SoC) sourcing.
- Co-therapy sourcing.
- Project management across all supply steps.
- Outsourced labelling and repackaging coordination.
- Cold chain and specialty logistics.
- Regulatory and compliance oversight.
Why Akesa
- Licensed wholesaler with operations across APAC and global reach.
- Proven expertise in comparator and clinical trial supply.
- Trusted partner to CROs, CDMOS, sponsors, and manufacturers.
- Integrated services across sourcing, logistics, and managed access programs.
Let Discovery Live with Akesa
Partner with Akesa for building and managing Managed Access Programs that enhance patient access, support healthcare providers, and drive the success of your pharmaceutical products. Contact us today to learn more about how we can collaborate to ensure access to essential therapies for those who need them most. Together, we can make a difference in healthcare access.