Scouting Rpt-Trialjectory: Connecting Cancer Patients to Clinical Trials&Advanced Treatment Options

The Driver:

Trialjectory recently raised $20M in its series A funding round bringing the total the company raised to $27.7M. The round was led by Invest Partners ( a private equity firm that invests in start-up technology and software companies) and was joined by JAL Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, TIA Ventures, Rho Ventures, and Connecticut Ventures. Trialjectory is an AI-based clinical trial matching platform that uses self-reported clinical information to facilitate the clinical trial search and enrollment by cancer patients and their physicians. The company was founded by Noem Geva and co-founder Tzvia Bader. Trialjectory works alongside all sectors of health care to improve the recruitment process. The money raised in the latest funding round will go towards upgrading the AI technology for their clinical trial matching platform.

Key Takeaways:

• A meta-review of 310 clinical trials conducted between 2003 and 2016 found that non-Hispanic whites were more likely to be enrolled in clinical trials than African American or Hispanic and Latino participants

• Trialjectory's app allows patients to enter information related to their specific cancer to find the best matched clinical trials and has matched more than 50,000 patients to clinical trials.

• 35% of patients on Trialjectory are people from underrepresented backgrounds and of that 35%, 60% are African American, 30% are Hispanic or Latino

• Trialjectory anticipates working with pharma companies and trial sponsors to help recruit patients

The Story:

For CEO and cofounder Tzvia Bader, cancer treatment hits close to home. In December of 2013, Bader was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma, a type of skin cancer that develops from pigment-producing cells. Bader also lost his mother to a battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, another type of cancer that affects white blood cells. After participating in three clinical trials, the evidence of cancer in Bader’s body was reduced. During his cancer journey, he realized that the clinical trials enrollment process was not patient-friendly, made it difficult to enroll in trials and challenging to access treatment options. With this in mind and years of developing technology companies, Bader decided to team up with Noem Geva to create an AI platform to help address this issue. The end result was the Trialjectory platform which attempts to connect patients in need of advanced cancer treatments and those running trials for cutting-edge therapeutics. The platform allows patients to input their health information, then the AI matches them to open clinical trials. Pharmaceutical companies use it to recruit patients to their own clinical trials. The collaboration between patients, physicians, and pharma companies makes clinical trials more accessible for all. The platform is free for patients, and the company anticipates its revenue stream will come from being sold to drug companies and hospitals.

The Differentiators:

What sets TrailJetory apart is its ability to break down the barriers to enrolling in clinical trials and to increase enrollment of the underserved. For example, as noted in the book “Transforming Clinical Research in the United States: Challenges and Opportunities: Workshop Summary” patients often encounter challenges such as lack of encouragement, inconvenience, fear of getting no treatment, and difficulty with eligibility criteria. By helping match patients to trials with minimum effort Trialjectory helps reduce these frictions. In addition, while data indicate the Caucasian White males were more likely to be enrolled in oncology trials than Blacks, LatinnX, or women, data supplied by the company indicate that 35% of patients on Trialjectory are people from underrepresented backgrounds, and of those 60% are African American, and 30% are Hispanic or Latino. In the words of cofounder XXXX “This unique approach continues to successfully remove the barriers and biases that historically prevented cancer patients from accessing advanced treatment options.”

The Big Picture:

Trialjectory is taking an automated approach to both connecting patients with clinical trials and increasing the ranks of the underserved for patients diagnosed with cancer. Their platform is furthering the use of technology in healthcare to make life easier for patients, doctors, and clinical trial sponsors. If this platform works as intended, it will potentially benefit patients and pharmaceutical companies. Patients will have better access to treatment options for their specific cancer. For the company’s holding clinical trials, the platform will increase and diversify patient enrollment helping to speed trails and increase the efficacy of trial results. In addition, as personalized medicine and therapeutically focused companies like Trialjectory create support communities, and other mechanisms to support patients in their care journey it will improve the quality and effectiveness of dialogue with clinicians.

Trialjectory scores $20M to match cancer patients to clinical trials; Trialjectory on track to match 50K cancer patients with clinical trials this year: 35% are from underrepresented groups