N-Power Medicine has collaborated with Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, to enable a greater number of oncologists—and the patients they care for—to participate in clinical research. N-Power Medicine’s real-time registry and point-of-care platform combines technology, AI, and embedded research staff to deliver an integrated and efficient workflow for clinical research and routine patient care. The collaboration intends to implement multiple trials in the N-Power Medicine Network. The aim will be to broaden this new model for clinical development to other indications within oncology and to more cancer centers as the N-Power Medicine Network grows. Press release. 

Walgreens received a project award valued up to $25 million through the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV) to conduct a Phase IV observational clinical study focused on assessing Correlates of Protection, known as responses to a vaccine that predict how well a vaccinated person will be protected from future infections, using COVID-19 vaccine data. The RRPV is a consortium funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This partnership underscores a shared commitment to advancing public health through innovative research and leveraging Walgreens’ extensive community pharmacies to increase access and representation in clinical trials. Press release. 

Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), published an article outlining considerations for clinical trial design to enhance the collection and analysis of overall survival (OS) in the context of modern-day treatments. OS measures how long a patient survives after treatment and is an important metric of a drug’s efficacy and safety. The article consolidates discussions such as: best practices in the clinical trial design and planning; a recommendation that all trials with registrational intent be designed to collect and assess OS to inform patient safety, regardless of its role in evaluating efficacy; and more. Press release. 

Advarra announced new functionality to centralize all patient recruitment activities into a single view. Advarra’s Longboat brings together patient recruitment planning, pre-screening, referral sources, and workflow tools to provide real-time visibility into recruitment progress. This new capability addresses one of the research industry’s primary roadblocks to trial execution: managing the patient recruitment workflow for sponsors, contract research organizations, and sites. Early use shows that clinical trials utilizing Longboat are 27% more likely to achieve recruitment goals. Press release.

Heriot-Watt University and the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI) are collaborating to increase the profile of Heriot-Watt as a hub of academic excellence. The collaboration will take a ‘triple helix’ approach, engaging academia, health systems, and industry partners throughout Scotland and the UK with a commitment to understanding the challenges innovators face in HealthTech research and commercialization, working to identify opportunities to overcome them through supported processes and policy lobbying. Press release. 

Oracle announced new capabilities in its AI-supported Oracle Argus and Safety One Intake solutions to help life science organizations meet evolving regulatory requirements and the rising volume of adverse event case workloads. For Argus, new capabilities offer smart duplicate search, which allows users to find duplicate cases quickly; enhanced end-of-study unblinding, which allows users to unblind cases in bulk faster; and more. For Safety One Intake, new capabilities include automated email intake and CRO support. These new enhancements are designed to increase productivity, improve data privacy, and enhance reporting. Press release. 

ObjectiveHealth has expanded its partnership with QualDerm Partners to integrate clinical research as a care option at QualDerm’s 158 skin care and aesthetics practices across 17 states, which serve more than 125,000 patients monthly. The strategic partnership between ObjectiveHealth and QualDerm will advance dermatology research while providing specialized care to patients suffering from dermatological disorders such as skin cancer, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne and alopecia. Press release. 

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Rice University announced the creation of the Cancer Bioengineering Collaborative to develop innovative technologies and bioengineering approaches to improve cancer research, diagnosis and treatment. Led by Rice’s Gang Bao, Ph.D., and MD Anderson’s Jeffrey Molldrem, M.D., the initiative aims to foster collaboration between the two institutions on fundamental and translational cancer research, to develop new technologies for cancer detection and therapy, and to secure external funding in support of further research and training. Press release. 

Univo IRB announced the launch of OneVerse, the industry’s first purpose-built, electronic platform that modernizes the IRB experience. OneVerse is designed around user experience and transparency, facilitating seamless study submission, secure document sharing, and direct communication across all research study stakeholders. Users can access a searchable review of submission statuses and action items; dynamic generation of processes, forms, and requests; simple collaboration allowing study teams to access documentation, amendments, and updates; and tailored submission guidance and IRB resources available 24/7.  Press release.