Using telemedicine and local treatment to avoid Australian interstate travel quarantines

A China-based biotech company with a Phase Ia/Ib solid tumor oncology trial running in Australia needed a creative solution to maintain study participant engagement. One participant needed to travel from their home state (Tasmania) to another state (Victoria) where the investigator site was located. Even under great conditions, this sort of long-distance travel imposes a significant burden on patients, but during COVID-19, the challenge was even greater: the patient needed to quarantine five days in each direction, which was the standard in Australia at the time.