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news.Pharmatech, Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) and 25 other leading oncology practices have agreed to evaluate an innovative program for rapidly identifying and enrolling patients in oncology clinical trials, sponsored by the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
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The solution, Just-In-Time (JIT), addresses inefficiencies in the oncology drug-development process, which fails to match the increasing molecular stratification of cancers.
The evaluation represents a key collaboration between Pharmatech and the newly established Institute for Precision Medicine at WCMC. The cutting-edge research hub will explore precision medicine, offering optimal targeted, individualized treatment based on each patient’s genetic profile.
JIT, employed since 2007 by Pharmatech, has been exceedingly effective at increasing patient accrual while eliminating non-enrolling centers, shortening trial timelines and delivering increased treatment value to patients and physicians.
The Phase II NCI/SBIR trial focuses on commercializing the JIT methodology across many research centers and integrating molecular profiling trial treatment options for patients with rare cancers.
Academic centers typically take six to 12 months before any clinical patients are enrolled. WCMC is working with Pharmatech to create a new era of academic clinical research by developing a model based on JIT. The project’s focus is to increase the number of clinical trials, enroll patients in 10-15 business days, molecularly screen patients for cancer mutations and implement a system to offer appropriate clinical trial treatment options for those patients.
"Together, we are committed to integrating emerging precision cancer medicine with real-time patient care through on-demand clinical trial opportunities," said Dr. Matthew Wiener, Pharmatech’s founder and COO.
"Understanding the molecular drivers of cancer at the patient level and using this information to select more effective, targeted treatments is our ultimate vision."