PatientsLikeMe announced this morning a five-year agreement with AstraZeneca to provide patient-reported data in support of the pharmaceutical company’s research initiatives. This is a first of its kind agreement for AstraZeneca and signals an intent to increasingly engage the patient voice in development programs. It’s also a collaboration that we both believe will transform the discovery process, and help create products and services tailored to what patients really need.
PatientsLikeMe’s real-time patient network research platform connects with others who have the same disease or condition and track and share their own experiences. In the process, they generate data about the real-world nature of disease that help researchers, pharmaceutical companies, regulators, providers, and nonprofits develop more effective products, services and care. With more than 325,000 members, PatientsLikeMe is a trusted source for real-world disease information and a clinically robust resource that has published more than 60 peer-reviewed research studies.
“Understanding what patients are experiencing every day and how they define the value of their treatments are fundamental to our ability to push the boundaries of science in developing the next-generation of medicines,” said Briggs Morrison, EVP Global Medicines Development, AstraZeneca in a statement. “Our partnership with PatientsLikeMe will help us to harness the important perspectives of patients through their advanced technology and real-world, real-time evidence to support our research and development programs.”