Key Partnership Will Connect Patients with Precision Oncology Clinical Trials and Novel Therapies, Accelerating Access to Promising Treatments
Translational Drug Development (TD2), a leading precision oncology contract research organization (CRO), and Deep Lens have announced a strategic partnership that will enhance access to tailored oncology treatments and novel clinical studies for patients receiving care in community oncology practices. The partnership will enable TD2 to offer Deep Lens’ proprietary clinical trial matching solution, VIPER™, as well as other research coordination services, to its drug development clients, thereby improving the ability for hospitals, trial coordinators, investigators, and patients to promote, collaborate, participate in and manage oncology clinical trials.
There has been tremendous growth in precision oncology, or the development of treatments that target the molecular profile of a patient’s tumor. The number of approved novel immunotherapy and targeted agents for different cancer indications has increased dramatically over the past five years, as has the number of clinical trials studying their safety and efficacy1. However, identifying and recruiting eligible patients for precision medicine trials can be challenging. Complex eligibility criteria coupled with very narrow timelines for enrollment can be difficult and labor intensive for study sites and sponsors. The blending of TD2 expertise in precision oncology with the Deep Lens’ clinical trial matching solution platform will improve efficiencies in trial recruitment and enrollment, increase patient access to trials, specifically at community oncology sites, where the majority of patients are diagnosed, and facilitate enhanced access to the right care, for the right patient, at the right time.
The Deep Lens VIPER platform automates the study screening process from time of patient diagnosis to qualified enrollment through the ingestion of genomic data, EMR, pathology, radiology and other patient data. VIPER provides rich data and interactive reporting capabilities to aggregate site and study-level patient data, making it easier for sites to achieve study objectives.
“The highest priority for TD2 is to ensure every patient that participates in a TD2 clinical trial has the opportunity of achieving clinical benefit,” said Stephen Gately, President and CEO at TD2. “Working with the Deep Lens platform and coordinators, TD2 can match cutting edge science and molecular testing results with clinical protocol inclusion/exclusion criterion to ensure patients get access to clinical trials where there is an increased likelihood of benefit. We are truly excited that this partnership has the potential to change the way early phase oncology trials are run and enrolled, taking the pressure off the sites to find the next patient and putting the focus on the right patient.”
“The drug development process has expanded significantly as our knowledge and understanding of cancer has evolved, and this has resulted in an increase in the number of precision medicine trials studying targeted therapies. While this is a positive step in our battle against cancer, unfortunately, the large majority of these trials fail to enroll enough patients to progress,” said Dave Billiter, co-founder and chief executive officer of Deep Lens. “Our approach is to reach more patients by working in the community oncology setting, where the majority of these patients are diagnosed and treated. The partnership with TD2 will allow us to support drug developers to identify and enroll patients into trials for which they are eligible – through our AI-based platform, we can do this right at the time of a patient’s diagnosis. This means more patients have access to life-changing therapies sooner, and drug developers can more effectively test the safety and efficacy of new therapies in more diverse populations.”
1Citeline Trialtrove July 2021
