PatientsLikeMe has struck an agreement with inVentiv Health to help the clinical research organisation (CRO) speed up patient recruitment for the trials it runs on behalf of pharmaceutical companies.

The deal continues a run of announcements this year from PatientsLikeMe that include the launch of its own clinical trial search tool for patients and a partnership with Sanofi.

PatientsLikeMe currently has around 200,000 members who share information and experiences on more than 1,500 different diseases and conditions.

“We've pioneered a way for people to learn from, share and contribute health data, and removed traditional barriers between researchers and patients,” explained Michael Evers, executive VP of marketing and patient advocacy at PatientsLikeMe. “inVentiv Health is a critical partner who shares our goal of streamlining research to quickly get better treatments to the people who need them.”

The online patient network is keen to be seen by the industry as a 'real-time research platform' and the latest deal with inVentiv will offer its members easy access to information on trials run by inVentiv's pharma customers.

Raymond Hill, president of inVentiv Health Clinical, said: “inVentiv Health will be able to quickly recruit potential trial participants by tapping into one of the fastest growing and most active patient networks online, so that our customers can speed up the development of drugs, devices and treatments to improve patients' lives.”

For inVentiv the deal is its latest agreement aimed accelerating clinical trials, following its March decision to take an equity stake in clinical trial technology company Mytrus. That partnership will allow trial sponsors to use electronic informed consent and inVentiv said it has its sights set on confirming another major technology deal within the next few weeks.

Digital inspiration for pharma on mobile, social media, strategy, best practice, regulations and more