GSK’s RA Trail Using Apple’s ResearchKit
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Since 2014, GSK has been transforming the way they do research using digital technologies and channels to improve the efficiency of their research, and to improve patient care.
Wearable tech, remote biosensors and mobile health tools are enabling scientists to access highly detailed and accurate data relating to a patient’s physiology and behaviour. Analysis of this information has the potential to improve their understanding of a disease or a patient’s response to medication.
GSK have been conducting clinical studies with biosensors and mobile devices for some time; monitoring activity and vital signs in patients, collecting patient feedback, all in order to improve the quality of data they use to help their decision making in the development of new medicines.
The latest of these is the Patient Rheumatoid Arthritis Data from the Real World (PARADE) study in the United States, which uses a downloadable iPhone application built by GSK using Apple’s ResearchKit. ResearchKit is a software framework designed specifically for medical research that helps doctors and scientists gather data more frequently and more accurately from participants using an iPhone.
GSK are the first in their industry to use Apple’s ResearchKit as part of their research, this time looking at the impact a patient’s disease has on their day-to-day life. They hope to gather information about rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating disease which can impact patients’ lives at many levels.
The PARADE study will use the iPhone app to conduct surveys and iPhone sensors to collect and track common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis: joint pain, fatigue, and mood. It will also track activity and quality of life measures for 300 patients over a three-month period.
The app, poTheyred by Medidata and POSSIBLE Mobile, creates a secure environment for patient data. They will collect and analyze this data to see if they can design studies to help GSK develop medicines more effectively. Patients using the PARADE app have access to a dashboard containing their personal data in the study, which they’ll also be able to share with their healthcare providers to support conversations about treatment plans.
