Alphabet's Verily in digital research alliance with Pfizer and others
Verily, which is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, yesterday announced that it had partnered with Novartis, Otsuka, Pfizer, and Sanofi in efforts to develop digitally-innovative clinical research programmes.
Alphabet’s Verily, which was launched in 2015, uses health data to create interventions that prevent and manage diseases.
In 2017, Verily introduced Project Baseline with the intention of developing technology and tools to map human health. Project Baseline is at the centre of the strategic alliance with Novartis, Otsuka, Pfizer, and Sanofi, and will be used to develop innovative and patient-focussed research programmes.
“The Baseline Platform is designed to engage more patients and clinicians in research, increase the speed and ease of conducting studies and collect more comprehensive, higher quality data, including outside the four walls of a clinic,” according to yesterday’s release.
Novartis, Otsuka, Pfizer and Sanofi each plan to introduce clinical studies leveraging the Baseline Platform in areas such as cardiovascular disease, oncology, mental health, dermatology and diabetes.
Jessica Mega, chief medical and scientific officer at Verily, said: “Novartis, Otsuka, Pfizer and Sanofi have been early adopters of advanced technology and digital tools to improve clinical research operations, and together we’re taking another step towards making research accessible and generating evidence to inform better treatments and care.”
As well as implementing a technology-enabled approach to research, Verily and the four pharmaceutical companies aim to increase the number and diversity of clinical research patients by exploring novel approaches to generating evidence using the Baseline Platform.
Mega commented: “We need to be inclusive and encourage diversity in research to truly understand health and disease, and to provide meaningful insights about new medicines, medical devices and digital health solutions.”
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