Pharmatech, Inc. And Cure Forward To Accelerate Oncology Clinical Trial Enrollment

New collaboration to connect more patients to relevant clinical trials to accelerate approval of new cancer therapies

DENVER & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pharmatech, Inc., with its large network of research-oriented oncology practices, announced today a new collaboration with Cure Forward, a patient activation company. Pharmatech will access Cure Forward’s large network of cancer patients to identify clinical study candidates. Through the collaboration, the two companies aim to make clinical trials more accessible in community healthcare settings and support faster approval of targeted therapies for cancer patients.

“At Cure Forward, we believe that every patient deserves to access to cutting-edge therapies through clinical trials. Our partnership with Pharmatech will create more opportunities for the patients who access the Cure Forward platform to accelerate clinical development, so that new targeted therapies get to the right patients more quickly”

According to an Institute of Medicine study in 2010, 85% of oncology patients are unaware that trials are an option to consider. Cure Forward disrupts conventional patient education resources and trial-recruiting approaches by providing a streamlined portal at the point of care for Pharmatech’s broad network of community oncology providers,enabling Pharmatech to target recruitment for clinically relevant cancer therapy trials to patients who meet enrollment criteria, but otherwise have more limited awareness of trials than patients connected to comprehensive academic medical centers.

Through Cure Forward’s website, patients can retrieve diagnostic test results ordered by their physicians from accredited clinical laboratory test providers, and then use that data to access educational information, collaborate with other patients, and enable their de-identified data to support more precise and real-time investigation of available treatment options, including invitations to participate in relevant clinical trials. Pharmatech has developed the unique capability to establish clinical trial sites in as few as 10 days at the point of care in communities.

“Clinical trial recruiters have long struggled to identify sufficient numbers of patients that meet enrollment criteria, and this divide has become more challenging with the increased development of targeted oncology therapies,” said Rob Bohacs, CEO of Pharmatech. “We recognize the broad value of making trials more visible and available to eligible patients, wherever they are. Accessing Cure Forward’s patient community complements our innovative site deployment capabilities, so that our investigators can enroll eligible participants and complete their studies.”

With its unique clinical trial matchmaking technology, Cure Forward inverts conventional approaches to trial recruitment by bringing trial invitations directly to patients. The Clinical Trial Exchange is Cure Forward’s first revenue-generating line of business, drawn from fees charged to trial recruiters. Following an initial collaboration phase during which Pharmatech and Cure Forward will optimize the Clinical Trial Exchange system, Pharmatech will become a commercial user of the platform as a recruitment tool for its advanced clinical trials.

“At Cure Forward, we believe that every patient deserves to access to cutting-edge therapies through clinical trials. Our partnership with Pharmatech will create more opportunities for the patients who access the Cure Forward platform to accelerate clinical development, so that new targeted therapies get to the right patients more quickly,” said Martin Naley, CEO of Cure Forward.

About Cure Forward

Cure Forward is built on the desire to help patients identify and better understand relevant treatment options for their condition by bridging the gap for patients and precision medicine, beginning in cancer. Through our website, patients can become champions of their own care, work more effectively with care providers and make more informed choices toward the best treatment paths. As a multisided platform, the company overcomes inefficiencies that currently separate patients from the insights and options that can shape their care and support their treatment journey. Cure Forward solves critical business needs for its diagnostic laboratory, health care provider, and clinical trial partners, including the potential to fill trials more quickly through its unique clinical trial exchange. Cure Forward is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was incubated and launched by Apple Tree Partners, a leading healthcare venture capital firm headquartered in New York City.

About Pharmatech Oncology

Pharmatech, Inc. is an oncology Contract Research Organization (CRO) that accelerates the drug development process by solving the most critical challenge facing oncology clinical trials – site activate and enrollment timelines. Through an organized network of cancer clinics, the company focuses on advancing the development of products for a broad range of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and on promoting the inclusion of clinical trials in the spectrum of patient treatment options.