2 collaborations – CVS Health with Medable, and Thermo Fisher Scientific with Medidata Acorn AI – seek to improve clinical trials
CVS MinuteClinic providers will use Medable’s software platform to improve patient access, engagement and retention during clinical trials. Meanwhile, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Medidata Acorn AI announced a collaboration to develop an application that combines patient recruitment and site performance data for clinical trials.CVS Health, the retail pharmacy which is seeking to overhaul its healthcare strategy, and Palo Alto, California-based software company Medable announced Monday that they’re partnering to expand access to clinical trials through CVS MinuteClinic locations nationwide. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the partnership. Medical-Commercial Collaborating to Win in the Digital Era It’s clear that life science companies need to transform their approach to be much more collaborative in the way they work with healthcare professionals. MinuteClinic providers will use Medable’s software platform with the aim of improving patient access, engagement and retention during clinical trials, according to a news release. Based on patient recruitment market research, less than 4% of the U.S. population participates in clinical trials, something Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS has noted since it began rolling out clinical trial services in May of last year. There are disparities in research participation as well. Clinical trial participants are disproportionately white, though participation among African-Americans increasing. However, other minorities including Asian, Hispanic and Latino groups still consistently underrepresented, according to the clinical data science company Phesi. Patient retention in trials is also a challenge. The vast majority of patients who start a trial don’t complete it. “One of the key reasons is inconvenient location – often the time and economics with taking long trips and time off from work to go to sites that are inconveniently located make trials impossible for some folks, especially in some underrepresented communities,” said Sanskriti Thakur, chief growth officer at Medable, in an email. “This partnership materially changes the way research touches people in the…