Medable and CVS Health have announced a partnership intended to increase study access and engagement for potential patient participants, via select MinuteClinic locations, through Medable’s clinical trials software platform. The CVS Health Clinical Trial Services (CTS) division will be charged with managing the effort.
Tony Clapsis, general manager and senior vice president of CVS Health CTS, said the partnership with Medable will help the company step up its efforts to boost clinical trial access and awareness.
“Over 40% of the vulnerable population in the US lives within five miles of a CVS Pharmacy location, so we have a chance to engage them,” Clapsis said. “Coupling Medable’s software platform and experience with CVS Health’s national reach, analytics, and established clinical trial and care delivery teams and services will further enrich and accelerate our ability to make a difference in the lives of patients and support an improved clinical research process.”
According to the collaborators, the collaboration will use Medable technology in combination with CVS Health’s community reach and MinuteClinic resources to deliver clinical studies in order to improve patient access, increase engagement, and elevate retention.
Statistics show that less than 4% of Americans participate in clinical trials; further, 30% drop out before the trial is complete, and about 80% of studies fail to meet enrollment deadlines. Additionally, despite increased awareness about representation, Asian, Hispanic, Black, and Latino groups are among the populations that are consistently and significantly underrepresented.
Sans Thakur, Medable’s chief growth officer, said the collaboration fits in with the company’s goal to increase access to clinical trials as well as inclusivity of studies.
“Our mission is to bring effective therapies to all patients, regardless of where they live, their social status, or race,” she said. “This collaboration intends to bridge research and science into communities with local access and experience that builds greater trust in health and medicine. Practical applications of Medable technology with the reach and experience of CVS Health gives us an opportunity to harness this time of change and respond differently to unmet needs in local communities.”
Since May 2021, CTS has worked with several figures across the clinical trial ecosystem to brainstorm on innovative approaches to clinical trials. According to the company, CTS served to help engage patients and facilitate trials of several COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
As part of this collaboration, CVS Health reports it will continue to offer:
- Precision patient recruitment
- Clinical trial delivery
- Real-world evidence generation
Also, CVS will use the Medable trial platform to increase patient engagement and retention, while capturing required endpoint data and other information both onsite and remotely.