Swedish patient enrollment company Trialbee has inked a partnership with Savvy Cooperative, which describes itself as the first and only patient-owned public benefit co-op.
The link between the two companies is part of an effort to address two hurdles patients face while looking to match with the appropriate clinical trials; the first is finding the appropriate trial and the second is being able to “express their experiences to the industry as consumers of healthcare,” the companies said in a March 29 press release.
Financial terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed.
“The Savvy Cooperative is comprised of people with rare disease, cancer, autoimmune disorders, and other chronic illnesses who have meaningful insights to offer for clinical research,” Ronnie Sharpe, Savvy’s founder and chief operating officer, said in the release. “We represent the very people who would be ideal participants for clinical research but have limited options—yet those available trials typically are not designed with these patients in mind.”
Savvy’s #AskPatient member community provides a platform for patients to discuss all aspects of research, from product and protocol design through recruitment, conduct, and engagement. Although the partnership will include all Savvy members, initially the focus will be on patients with lupus and multiple sclerosis, who are typically under recruited for trials.