Technology should improve compliance and facilitate post-market drug
studies
CHICAGO, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Increased use of oral cancer drugs has
raised concerns about patient compliance. A review in the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) found that up to 80% of cancer patients
failed to follow their prescriptions. The risk to patients is substantial.
Patients who take too much chemotherapy risk a toxic reaction or long-term
damage. Patients who take too little lose the drug's therapeutic benefits.
NCI has awarded Leap of Faith Technologies an $883,593 contract to
further develop its drug telemonitoring technology, called eMedonline(R)
(http://www.emedonline.com), for use in oncology and clinical trials.
eMedonline integrates cellphones, radio frequency identification
(RFID), and health and behavioral informatics to optimize compliance, track
medication use, and extend patient care to the ambulatory setting.
"eMedonline is designed to facilitate compliance data collection and
help manage adverse events," explains Barbara Rapchak, CEO of Leap of
Faith. "The system goes beyond reminding patients to take their
medications. It also helps them monitor their symptoms, side effects, and
overall well-being using an off-the-shelf cellphone that integrates
seamlessly into their lifestyle."
eMedonline can be thought of as a "smart service" that leverages the
inherent abilities of wireless technologies like cellphones and RFID.
Medication data read from an RFID tag on the medication package is
collected wirelessly in real time and helps verify that patients are taking
the right drug at the right time, while tracking adverse events. A web
service makes the data readily available to clinicians. Alerts can be
triggered, enabling intervention in the case of missed medications or
adverse events before they become a significant health risk.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, clinical trials
report average adherence rates of only 43%-78%. It costs an average of
$6533 to recruit a patient for a trial, and three times that amount to
recruit a new patient if one is lost due to noncompliance.
eMedonline cost-effectively and accurately tracks drug distribution,
dosing times, and missed doses, eliminating costly uncertainty about
efficacy and the need for manual data entry. This can reduce the cost and
time to bring a drug to market.
With increased FDA scrutiny of new drugs, the technology is especially
relevant to Phase IV studies where it can automate data collection across
large, widely distributed populations for extended periods of time.
SOURCE Leap of Faith Technologies
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Related links:
http://www.leapoffaith.com
CONTACT:
Barbara Rapchak of Leap of Faith
Technologies, +1-815-356-1767, brapchak@leapoffaith.com
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