Delve Health and Afortiori Development Announced Their Collaboration. What Does it Mean for Clinical Research?

Delve Health, a clinical research technology firm, and Afortiori Development, a clinical contract research organization (CRO), have announced an exciting partnership to expand patient access to support the successful delivery of clinical trials worldwide—increasing the industry-wide adoption and implementation of decentralized clinical trials (DCTs).

Delve Health’s Clinical StudyPal app, provides a fully-customizable mobile and web-based platform that enables remote patient monitoring and interaction with the trial to provide a strong foundation for the successful, rapid delivery of decentralized clinical research for trial sponsors.

“As seasoned and innovative technology providers, we understand that clinical trial success is heavily dependent on our eClinical solutions that serve as the cornerstone. Delve Health is dedicated to supporting cross-functional CRO teams, such as Afortiori Development, to drive their success because when participation in clinical trials is streamlined, it’s a win-win both for clinical trial participants and the research industry,” Wessam Sonbol, CEO of Delve Health said. This collaboration is designed to provide the technical capabilities and operational training to support CROs. He continued that “… as partners, we’ve been able to reduce time spent planning, designing, and managing studies.”

“We look forward to our partnership, as Delve Health’s platform offers full integration and customization to each and every study we conduct, enabling us to design and conduct patient-centric trials, and expand potential study participation and access that many patients may not have otherwise had due to geographical limitations,” said Dr. Nicola Wall, CEO of Afortiori Development. “Decentralized clinical trials offer increased access to suitable trial patients, wherever they live in the world, which in turn allows for a more diverse representation of patients in studies compared to conventional trials. It also facilitates an easier patient journey, reducing on-site visit requirements and contributing significantly to trial retention.”

Regulators and trial sponsors have consistently addressed the need for more cost-effective and more accessible clinical trials to improve data quality through diversity, further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent industry survey, an estimated 50% of clinical trials will be a hybrid or decentralized design by 2024.

Delve Health’s platform, with integration to any EDC, allows Afortiori Development to receive the technical guidance and operational support it needs to successfully integrate their DCT capabilities using a user-friendly platform–both for clinical trial staff, as well as their patients.

This partnership has the potential to help better utilize the technology that’s already “mainstream”—like wearables for example (i.e., Apple Watch, FitBit, etc.)—and leverage it to help the acceleration and more widespread adoption of the decentralized clinical trial and hybrid clinical trial models. This collaboration of a CRO with a clinical research technology firm, with a fully-integrateable and fully-customizable solution will streamline the daily tasks of clinical studies staff, but also tasks for a clinical trial participant (i.e, ePRO/eCOA, eConsent, eDiaries, etc.).

The simplification and automation of these daily tasks will lead to an increase in the quality of data collected; increase access; and increasing patient compliance and patient retention—all of which increases a study’s completion rates, therefore reducing costs. This collaboration could be the start of a broader acceptance of the DCT model within the industry, and that would be great—not just for us insiders, but for the patient experience overall. Isn’t that why we all got into this field in the first place? To make a difference? Onward.

 

 

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