A report this week from Cutting Edge Research said the cost of doing clinical trials is 60 percent higher than it was five years ago. In a bid to help pharma companies reduce clinical trial costs, Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) national industry director for healthcare said it’s working with StartUp Health to present entrepreneurs’ ideas in an innovation day.
Ryan Olohan mentioned the collaboration in a panel discussion about the future of healthcare at the New York Digital Health Conference.
“If we could shorten the time period for [setting up, carrying out] clinical trials, the ramifications are huge.”
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
StartUp Health runs a three-year entrepreneur program. Among its corporate venture capital investors are pharmaceutical and healthcare companies as well as Google Ventures.
Olohan did not immediately disclose the details of the collaboration but there are many startup companies with technology that could potentially help clinical trials. They are geared to solve pain points in the healthcare industry such as recruitment, remote monitoring, communication and adherence. Here are a few of them.
Neurotrack is developing a computer diagnostic tool to detect Alzheimer’s disease. It is designed to determine whether a senior who shows no signs of the disease will develop Alzheimer’s within the next three to four years.
Oxitione is producing a device to measure pulse oxymetry not from the fingertip but from the wrist using a smartphone to capture the data. It could detect early signs of below average oxygen levels in the blood — a condition called hypoxemia. That can be an important gauge for people with COPD and congestive heart failure — the two lead indications for the device. It also uses the cloud to transmit data from the smartphone to physicians.
Ondello wants to make it easier for doctors and patients to communicate online through text-based chat, video and voice.
Yingo Yango has a mobile and online patient engagement tool. Its online platform helps individuals work directly with their network of professionals to organize health, prevention and wellness content and resources into “Health Circles” for specific medical conditions, interests or wellness topics, for that individual’s needs, according to its website.
Adhere Tech developed a smart pill bottle with technology to “know” whether each dose of the medication has been taken. It uses text messages and rings users to remind them to take their medicine. It also uses sensors to track how often and when a patient takes their medication. It transmits HIPAA-compliant data from the pill bottle to the cloud. It can also collect feedback on why the patient is not taking their meds and inform doctors. Earlier this year the Cornell HIV Clinical Trials Unit said it would test the pill bottle to assess adherence to an HIV drug regimen over a 12-week period and compare it with the usual standard of care.
[Photo from Flickr user Bill David Brooks]
