Apple’s ResearchKit is a framework that was introduced in 2015 to help gather standardized clinical research leveraging the sensors and touch interface of iPhones.
Finding and recruiting patients for clinical trials can cost millions of dollars. However, the use of Apple’s ResearchKit, which is free, can reduce those costs by enabling participants to enrol themselves, presenting the study details to the user, obtaining their consent and accelerating the pace of the research.
It has been rapidly taken up by hospitals and universities – for example, a Cardiovascular study conducted by Stanford University attracted 10,000 participants very rapidly after using Apple’s ResearchKit.
Pharma, though, wasn’t on board…and this was surprising. Although some have been in discussions about doing so – such as Purdue Pharma – none had actually committed to it, until now.
GlaxoSmithKline is now working to integrate this into its clinical trials, making it the first Pharma company to do so. The first target area? Rheumatoid Arthritis. This is the first major study using ResearchKit by a Pharma company and the results may determine whether other Pharma also see this as a compelling alternative for clinical trials to the traditional approaches currently being used.
The GSK digital team are doing some very interesting work recently and are proving themselves different to many others. Many Pharma companies are doing pockets of exciting work in digital; however, most seem to lack any strategic understanding and are just doing digital for the sake of digital without really adding much value to the customers or company.
GSK have a group working on digital strategy, which includes industry veterans with clinical research or marketing backgrounds and those immersed in all the digital capabilities out there. This combination of skills is yielding the strongest results for digital teams in Pharma seen to date. They understand digital and they understand the issues to be solved.
Hats off to the GSK digital team as they are doing a great job of integrating digital in order to solve some of their biggest challenges.