Sanofi has chosen Thread as the sole provider of unified decentralized clinical trials (DCTs) and electronic clinical outcome assessments (eCOA) technology for its Integrated Patient Platform (IPP).
By using technology to reduce or eliminate the need for in-person visits, DCTs could accelerate enrollment and boost diversity.
Sanofi, a company with a long-standing interest in DCTs, has identified Thread as the company to further its ambitions in the space. Under the terms of a five-year deal, Thread will be the sole provider of DCT and eCOA technology for Sanofi’s IPP.
The Sanofi platform grew out of a desire to provide patients with a single point of entry to clinical trials. Thread will support the initiative with technology and services that are intended to provide patients, investigators and sites with an interconnected and uniform digital experience.
“This collaboration will enhance our efforts to connect and engage patients and investigators as we continue on our mission to decentralize clinical trials and extend these life-changing opportunities to more patients across the world,” said Lionel Bascles, global head of clinical sciences and operations at Sanofi.
Thread’s status as sole provider should give it a stream of work from Sanofi, although the private terms of the deal will dictate how beneficial the business is to its bottom line. Sanofi selected Thread after previously working with at least one of its competitors.
Sanofi helped put Thread’s peer Science 37 on the map in 2016, contributing to a $31m financing round through its venture capital arm and forming a DCT collaboration with the startup the next year. However, the French drugmaker has not been among Science 37’s biggest customers in recent years.
Financial regulatory filings show three customers — PPD, Freenome and Adagio Therapeutics — each accounted for more than 10% of Science 37’s revenues in 2021. PPD and Freenome also accounted for more than 10% of sales in 2020, as did Boehringer Ingelheim.