FM AUGUST 2018 ISSUE1 - digital edition
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esearch<br />
Hunt for real-world data<br />
Drug makers are in race to gather data outside clinical trials as end-users<br />
demand evidence for efficacy and value of drugs in day to day clinical practice<br />
I<br />
n February, the Swiss drug giant<br />
Roche acquired Flatiron Health, a<br />
start-up analyzing real-time<br />
oncology data to help cancer patients<br />
and doctors, in a $1.9 billion deal.<br />
Roche is one of the drug makers racing<br />
to strike deals with big data analytics<br />
companies hunting for information on<br />
how drugs work in the real world.<br />
Traditionally, medicines are evaluated<br />
through randomised clinical trials<br />
(RCT). Many drugs shine in clinical<br />
trials, but under-deliver in day-to-day<br />
clinical practice.<br />
This is where gathering real-world evidence<br />
(RWE) is gaining importance. Companies<br />
are gathering and generating data outside<br />
RCT to produce evidence for efficacy and<br />
value of drugs in the real world.<br />
The rise of electronic medical records,<br />
insurance claims databases, fitness<br />
wearables and even social media<br />
aids this trend by offering a trove of<br />
new information.<br />
A Deloitte poll of 2017 found more than<br />
half of the life science companies to be<br />
engaged in the process of developing<br />
real world data capabilities.<br />
Major drug companies now have<br />
departments dedicated for use of realworld<br />
data across multiple diseases.<br />
Quite a few companies have already<br />
completed scientific studies using the<br />
data into areas addressed by their drugs.<br />
AstraZeneca and Sanofi, for instance,<br />
are conducting research on diabetes.<br />
Joint research in stroke prevention by<br />
Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and<br />
a bowel disease project by Takeda<br />
Pharmaceuticals are other examples.<br />
The trend is fast catching up in the recent<br />
years. Half of the world’s 1,800 clinical<br />
studies involving real-world or real-life<br />
46 / FUTURE MEDICINE / <strong>AUGUST</strong> <strong>2018</strong>