Leveraging AI for Next Generation Clinical Trial Technologies
AI-driven innovation to revolutionize completion, success and relevancy of clinical trials.
Project Overview
Updated March 21, 2024
The Problem
1/3 of adults globally suffer from multiple chronic conditions.1 This rate is increasing worldwide due to social, economic, lifestyle and environmental factors. 85% of all clinical trials fail to recruit enough patients and 80% are delayed due to recruitment problems2, thus slowing down research and delivery of life-saving therapies and novel devices to patients worldwide. Additionally, high-cost, targeted specialty medicines and therapies for complex chronic conditions require stringent management, patient adherence and education support throughout the clinical trial process.
Increasing the success of clinical trials—an incredibly expensive undertaking with an average cost of $19M per study—is paramount. These trials fail not just due to efficacy and funding, but from insufficient recruitment, patient data, management of side effects and patient education. Further, the distribution of participants in clinical trials worldwide (76% white, 11% Asian and 7% Black) are not representative of the growing diversity of our populations and thus correspond to shortcomings in delivering effective therapies for underserved patient populations3. This basic lack of representation alone costs hundreds of billions of downstream impact dollars.
While artificial intelligence (AI) is making headway in supporting clinical trials, there is still a gap in implementation and adoption to improve patient retention and adherence. The incorporation of AI earlier in the clinical trial cycle provides an opportunity for new standards of patient retention, adherence and engagement.
How We Are Solving It
RxPx’s platform currently provides patients with personalized information and disease management tools they need to achieve their best outcomes; and gives providers an easier way to ensure patients are safeguarded and supported while accessing new therapies. This project aims to augment and develop a comprehensive, integrated ‘AI Clinical Buddy System’ for more effective patient recruitment, adherence, engagement and monitoring of clinical trials.
Led by RxPx, the collaboration of this project is comprised of a consortium of industry leaders and researchers including Axial Bridge; uMed Technologies; OPTT Health; Aparito; Caoimhe Vallely-Gilroy Consulting; Dr. Kathleen Martin-Ginis at UBC’s Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention & Management; Dr. Maleknaz Nayebi’s research team at the York University Computer Science Department’s AI Lab; and Dr. Mark Toshner at the Heart & Lung Research Institute NIHR Clinical Research Facility and Cambridge University.
Initially trialing the solution for chronic concussion therapies, the project will utilize fine-tuned large language models (LLMs) for clinical trials, conversational interfaces, adherence-prediction algorithms and classifications. The AI Clinical Buddy System will also increase equity, diversity, inclusion and overall participation in trials through personalized onboarding and engagement features for patients.
The successful implementation of this AI-driven innovation has the potential to revolutionize completion, success and relevancy of clinical trials towards developing more effective medications and therapies for chronic conditions. By leveraging these opportunities and demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed solution, the project team stands to position themselves as global leaders for AI-driven healthcare innovation.
Project Lead
Project Partners
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“The ultimate aim of any clinical trial is to bring life-saving therapies to market quickly and safely to help as many patients as possible. By increasing the diversity, personalization, and patient support with the AI Clinical Buddy System, we will be able to help life sciences companies and patient populations worldwide. While we have been developing patient-centric AI technologies for the past 5 years, we’re tremendously excited about this ambitious project and honoured to be working alongside industry leaders in this transformative project.”
CEO, RxPx -
“Led by RxPx, this incredible mix of consortium partners is tackling an increasing imperative for the efficacy and diversity of clinical trials for the development of life-saving solutions. We continue to be proud to co-invest alongside innovators like RxPx and support partnerships such as these that are building on Canada’s global reputation in AI and advancing international commercial pathways for Canadian companies.”
Vice President of Programs, DIGITAL