TrialJectory Makes TIME’S Best Inventions 2020 List
Every year, TIME Magazine recognizes new software or service inventions that are solving problems in innovative ways. These inventions include breakthroughs in healthcare, technology, food, beauty, and entertainment according to the magazine.
The 2020 list included TrialJectory, an Israeli/American company that uses artificial intelligence to help cancer patients read through thousands of clinical trials and matches users with ones that match their exact diagnosis on a unique clinical trial matching platform.
“Millions of Americans are currently suffering from cancer while also facing major difficulties navigating the complex, jargon-y world of clinical trials. This is unacceptable since these trials often provide better alternatives and result in better outcomes than the standard of care,” said Tzvia Bader, CEO and co-founder of TrialJectory in a press release.
Bader said on the company’s website that she first decided to create the service when she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma and that with three young daughters at home, losing this battle was simply not an option.
“I quickly learned throughout this process that the way in which patients gain access to advanced treatments through clinical trials is completely broken. Understanding all treatment options is critical for people to own their cancer journey, as I have been fortunate enough to do.”
That’s because she reached out for help to a friend who was a cancer researcher – now her partner at the company – who helped her navigate all the options. Bader has now been in remission for four years.
With the mission of democratizing access to advanced cancer care, the clinical trial matching platform is free for cancer patients and is easy to use. First, the patient selects his or her cancer type and completes the online questionnaire. Then they receive a personalized list of trials that they match with and can even compare to other patients’ cancer journeys using the Treatment Finder Tool. Then, the company facilitates communication with the clinical trial lead on behalf of the patient.
The service’s patient match optimizer, that uses keywords, allows pharmaceutical companies to view patient information that can directly relate to clinical recruitment and retention. This allows Big Pharma to shorten the enrollment period, reduces costs, and could potentially reduce the time it takes to bring these drugs to market (and to patients) faster.
“One of the top obstacles that oncologists face today is the lack of clinical trial access for patients, which is due to the availability of more treatment options overall. Additionally, it is a very complex process to match the right patient with the right treatment, especially with the rise of personalized medicine,” Bader told Tech Crunch.
TrialJectory, which launched in 2018, supports trials for these types of cancer: breast, lung, colon, bladder, melanoma, and myelodysplastic syndromes. This service has the potential to save many lives and certainly deserved to be on TIMES list.
