ObvioHealth and Oracle partner to expand clinical trials in APAC

The two companies are currently working on their first trial together for the treatment of migraines

ObvioHealth is a company that calls itself a "Virtual Research Organization," meaning it provides a decentralized clinical trial (DCT) app, which can be downloaded onto a smartphone, so that anyone can participate in clinical trials from anywhere.

This kind of technology is particularly important in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), where there has been a significant influx of trials. In fact, about half of all clinical trials have occurred in APAC, ObvioHealth CEO Ivan Jarry told VatorNews.

"The region has signaled enthusiasm for using the decentralized trial model to increase trial equity and access. Yet, despite the appetite for DCTs, there are very few DCT players with APAC experience," he said.

So, to facilitate expansion into the region, ObvioHealth announced a collaboration with Oracle which will help get breakthrough therapies to market faster through more efficient integration of diverse data sets. 

"The new partnership with Oracle strengthens our offer in these countries. So, not only do we believe there is a huge opportunity in APAC, but we also believe we’re the best company to conduct a DCT in the region," said Jarry.

Founded in 2017, ObvioHealth runs trials via a centralized virtual clinical platform. The company accompanies participants through every step of the journey, from enrollment to helping them complete tasks, and also validating data capture. 

The company works with sponsors to design, run, analyze and deliver trials. Its platform includes tools for recruitment and prescreening, while also overseeing the shipment and return of supplies and/or devices to and from the patient's home. It also handles participant payments, while also helping participants to capture and record their data in order to increase compliance; coordinates doctor, lab and imaging appointments, as well as home, site, or telehealth visits; and provides real time monitoring and reporting. 

In the past year, ObvioHealth launched ObvioGo, its decentralized clinical trial platform and mobile application. The platform integrates its DCT expertise, its digital instruments, real-world data, and AI to deliver stronger evidence of therapeutic efficacy and safety. The tech includes a mobile app and four other modules within a single unified platform that allows sponsors to conduct a clinical trial from start to finish, from study design to data collection and study and data management.

In addition, the company also launched its patient engagement suite of products and services that are designed to remove friction for trial patients and motivate them to complete. 

In addition to its headquarters in New York, ObvioHealth also has offices in Singapore, Australia, and Europe, which Jarry explained have enabled the company to conduct culturally sensitive trials in Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. 

ObvioHealth and Oracle are currently working on their first trial together, a digital therapeutic study for the preventative treatment of migraines, which is expected to launch in December of this year. The study will connect the client’s application, the ObvioGo platform, and Oracle for data integration. 

"DCTs, while easier for the patient, are often more complex designs. They might include sites, labs, ePRO, and wearables/sensors. This makes study and data management more complex. Oracle’s Clinical One provides us with the capability to bring multi-source data into a one hub. This makes the data more actionable and easier to analyze for stronger insights," said Jarry.

The reason that Oracle chose ObvioHealth as its partner is because the company has, "best in class patient-facing technology and an expert clinical and scientific team, and because we can offer that up globally, with an initial emphasis on the APAC region," he explained.

This, Jarry said, pairs very well with Oracle’s best-in-class back-end technology.

"We are constantly innovating new and easier ways to capture data, such as our Augmented ePRO that combines image, audio and video capture with an AI-assisted clinical rater platform. This removes burden from patients while increasing the objectivity of the data for sponsors. So, we both bring a lot to the table and we look forward to a very fruitful partnership."

Going forward, ObvioHealth has a couple of central nervous system clinical trials that are set to start in early 2023, a therapeutic area that Jarry says is "very promising for DCTs."

"This partnership gives us access to pseudo-anonymized data so we can conduct prognostic and predictive analysis for improved study design and recruitment of more precise subpopulations of patient cohorts," he said. 

(Image source: obviohealth.com)