PatientsLikeMe has recruited AstraZeneca as its latest big pharma client as the two sign a new five-year agreement.
Under the terms of the deal, AstraZeneca will use patient-reported data from PatientsLikeMe to help future its medicine development and help improve outcomes, with an initial focus on respiratory disease, lupus, diabetes and oncology.
Briggs Morrison, EVP of global medicines development at AstraZeneca, said: “Understanding what patients are experiencing every day and how they define the value of their treatments are fundamental to our ability to push the boundaries of science in developing the next-generation of medicines.”
“Our partnership with PatientsLikeMe will help us to harness the important perspectives of patients through their advanced technology and real-world, real-time evidence to support our research and development programmes.”
The agreement is the latest in a string of big pharma firms to sign up to PatientsLikeMe’s global network, which currently include Roche, Merck & Co, UCB, Actelion, Boehringer, Sanofi and Novartis.
The group is essentially a forum for patients to openly discuss issues with their conditions with other patients, which can include everything from drug adherence and side effects to worries over healthcare costs and pain management.
All of these firms signing up to this platform develop drugs for the diseases and conditions that patients are discussing on the forum. The site allows firms a unique way of harnessing real-world data by gleaning information from these patients, and using it to create the next generation of drugs.
This type of website interface can develop into a goldmine for pharma firms, as it affords them an in-depth look into the patient population of a treatment, something it cannot easily attain anywhere else.
Ed Godber, EVP of Life Sciences Ventures, said the wide-ranging collaboration with AstraZeneca also marks a ‘significant step’ in realising PatientsLikeMe’s mission to make patients ‘partners in science’.
“It’s rare to find a partner so committed to listening to and integrating the patient voice into the heart of its scientific development and operations. We’re excited to work together to transform the discovery and healthcare model and develop products and services tailored to what patients experience and truly need,” Godber said.
