Health IT, Startups

Science 37 reveals the potential for social media to be a hero for pharma

Science 37 illustrated a way forward for pharma companies to improve clinical trial recruitment through social media and remote monitoring, reducing drug development costs.

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Health 2.0’s WinterTech conference offered some great examples of how far some companies have progressed regarding the role health IT entrepreneurs and social media can play in healthcare. The event was held during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco this week.

One example of how far pharma companies have progressed in their attitude towards  social media was reflected in the work of Science 37. CEO and Cofounder Dr. Noah Craft, a dermatologist and former tropical disease scientist, talked about the frustratingly long recruitment process for clinical trials, which is a big driver of drug development costs. Craft talked about the experience of running clinical trial recruitment ads on Facebook for safety and efficacy studies, as a way to improve access to the information. A dermatology trial for an acne treatment attracted thousands — far more than the trial called for. Craft noted that using remote monitoring to increase clinical trial participation also had the effect of making patients more engaged.

“We built an entire business around the idea that if you make it easier for patients to participate, it will improve recruitment for clinical trials and make [the process] faster,” Craft said.

He claimed that the company has been able to reduce clinical trial recruitment time by 67 percent and boost participation by minorities in these trials. Participants get study materials shipped to their homes to participate.

Sanofi Ventures is one of Science 37’s investors. Ruchita Sinha, Sanofi Ventures senior director of investments, noted that shortening clinical trial recruitment times could create a huge opportunity for pharma companies.

Big pharma has been interested in harnessing social media for some time for clinical trials but the industry moves quite slowly. Still, the need to cut costs has meant that pharma’s interest in these novel approaches to recruitment hasn’t faded. Science 37 also works with biotech companies.

Although a panel discussion on new care models highlighted the varied approaches by Grand Rounds, CareMore Health Plan, Iora Health, Clover Health, Avalere Health, and Qliance, at one point the panel echoed some of the underlying tension between technology developers and providers.

Rushika Fernandopulle, Iora Health cofounder and CEO, noted that part of the problem with some health tech companies is that, “They’re solving stupid problems. Tracking yoga sessions and steps are not real healthcare problems.”

Dr. Sachin Jain, CareMore CEO, called for a common sense approach to healthcare rather than technology ambitions around big data analysis overshadowing the insights and experience of healthcare professionals. That figures, since CareMore does a lot in the way of low-fi changes to reduce hospital visits for Medicare Advantage members, such as ensuring they make appointments and obtain their medication.

“We keep chasing problems that don’t exist and putting patches on things that need a better fix,” he said.

At one point, QLiance Cofounder and CEO Dr. Erica Bliss, who was part of a management buyout of the business last March, noted that when they couldn’t find the technology in the market to address the needs of its business, they simply produced it themselves. That spurred Owen Tripp, Grand Rounds cofounder and CEO to respond, “Providers should not be developing software.”

Vivek Garipalli, Clover Health CEO and cofounder seemed to comment that there’s a certain amount of arrogance by technology companies, particularly when it comes to complex industries like healthcare.

“There’s this belief that you can go into a complex industry and just figure it out— that’s just not true”.

Image: sam_ding, Getty Images 

 

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