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New partnership between PatientsLikeMe and inVentiv Health demonstrates the expanding role of digital networks in lowering the cost of clinical trial recruitment.

By Anonymous on Jun 19, 2013

inVentiv Health, a provider of commercialisation, consulting and clinical development services based in the US, has joined forces with online patient network, PatientsLikeMe, to quicken patient recruitment for clinical trials. Through the PatientsLikeMe Clinical Trial Awareness tool, inVentiv can pursue a digital network of more than 200,000 individuals, who share their experiences on more than 1,500 conditions and diseases, for clinical trials based on their unique member profiles.

It is thought that PatientsLikeMe users will accelerate the drug development process as quicker than traditional clinical trial participants as they are already interested in advancing the procedure for new treatments. Through this clinical trial initiative, they will be given the opportunity to become more active in medical research while the healthcare industry keeps R&D costs down.

President of inVentiv Health Clinical Raymond Hill commented on this partnership saying, “inVentiv Health will be able to quickly recruit potential trial participants by tapping into one of the fastest growing and most active patient networks online, so that our customers can speed up the development of drugs, devices and treatments to improve patients' lives.”

This alliance with PatientsLikeMe is another digital collaboration in line with their strategy to streamline and accelerate the process of recruiting patients for clinical trials. For instance, it recently announced an affiliation with Medikly, a social media analytics initiative focusing on physicians that aims to garner insights about doctors who could act as investigators for trials or offer patient recommendations for trials. Additionally, it teamed up with software company Myrtus who created a new form of electronic technology, approved by the FDA that allows patients to provide informed consent before enrolling in a clinical trial.               

Previously, pharmaceutical companies like Sanofi also entered into deals with PatientsLikeMe, a result of its Clinical Awareness Tool, to raise awareness of its clinical trials for new treatments.

Executive vice president of marketing and advocacy at PatientsLikeMe Michael Evers said, “We've pioneered a way for people to learn from, share and contribute health data, and removed traditional barriers between researchers and patients. inVentiv Health is a critical partner who shares our goal of streamlining research to quickly get better treatments to the people who need them.”