By Clinical Research News Staff

June 11, 2019 | Greenphire recently announced that it has formed a partnership with the Lazarex Cancer Foundation. Lazarex will implement Greenphire's ClinCard participant reimbursement technology to remove financial burdens for the oncology patients it supports across the United States.

Oncology trials consistently struggle to recruit enough participants; studies show that fewer than 5% of adult cancer patients ever enroll in a clinical trial. This number shrinks even further among low-income patients who lack the financial resources to travel to trial sites, and who cannot afford time off of work.

Lazarex Cancer Foundation covers the costs for patients seeking to participate in oncology clinical trials, including airfare, ground transportation and accommodations. On average, Lazarex reimburses expenses as low as $50 monthly for a tank of gas up to $1,500 monthly for travel, lodging, and airfare for a patient and a companion—a significant financial burden at a time when patients are facing a life-threatening illness. These expenses prevent patients from participating in potentially life extending or life-saving clinical trials. With ClinCard, no upfront costs will be required by the patients. Funds for participants to get to the trial site and remain in the study will be available immediately, improving the experience and reducing all financial-related concerns.

"Lazarex is doing groundbreaking work in the oncology community by providing access to clinical trials for those who simply can't afford what often amounts to thousands of dollars required to get there," Jim Murphy, CEO of Greenphire, said in a press release. "They are democratizing access to cancer research and we are proud to streamline their payment systems with ClinCard to enable them to significantly increase the number of patients they assist each year."

Greenphire's ClinCard facilitates more than six million reimbursements to over one million clinical trial participants around the world. Implementing ClinCard will allow Lazarex to expand the patients it assists by more than 1.5 times, growing from 600 to 900-1,000 patients per month.