While the COVID-19 pandemic brought many clinical trials around the world to a halt, it also spurred novel ways of reaching patients as the pharmaceutical industry pivoted quickly to re-think their clinical operations strategies. Advances in electronic consent, remote monitoring, telehealth, and direct-to-patient shipments are breaking down barriers to clinical trials, while also redefining the potential of the expanded access program.
Even before the pandemic put expanded access (and terms like compassionate use) in the spotlight, various legislative changes and patient-centric approaches have been accelerating support for the increased use of the expanded access program (EAP). …
As a 37-year-old with a young family and a successful career, Teresa Freire wasn’t deterred when she learned there were no more standard treatment options for her cancer.
Teresa had already tried an experimental cancer treatment to stop the spread of a rare type of bone cancer called chondrosarcoma, which was found to have metastasized to her lungs soon after it was diagnosed. After taking it for 18 months and enduring difficult side effects, she learned that the cancer had also metastasized to her lumbar spine. Her oncologist told her the only option was chemotherapy, despite an expected low success…
Today is World Pancreatic Cancer Day, which is recognized each year on the third Thursday of November. This awareness campaign was launched in 2014 by the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition, which is comprised of 95 organizations from 35 countries around the world. These organizations raise public awareness, provide patients and physicians with information and drive research into pancreatic cancer. myTomorrows is proud to lend support to these efforts aimed at preventing, diagnosing and treating this complex and deadly disease.
What is pancreatic cancer?
Pancreatic cancer is the 11th most common cancer in the world. It is also one of the deadliest and is ranked…
Lymphomas are a blood cancer arising from T and B lymphocytes — types of white blood cells — present in the lymphatic system. Lymphomas are divided into two main categories: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Hodgkin lymphoma is named after the English physician who first discovered the type of abnormal B lymphocytes that occur in HL specifically. NHL accounts for 90% of lymphomas and consists of around 60 different lymphoma subtypes. Lymphoma is the most prevalent blood cancer and accounts for approximately 3–4% of all cancer diagnoses.
What is diffuse large B cell lymphoma?
Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most commonly occurring…
myTomorrows, a platform that helps patients with an unmet medical need discover and access treatments in development worldwide, has unveiled the myTomorrows’ Treatment Search. The Treatment Search is a proprietarily developed search tool that gives physicians and patients the ability to rapidly perform a global search of registries to find Clinical Trials and identify relevant pre-approval treatment options. This AI-powered tool consists of an interface that is intuitive, presenting search results in a manner that is easily understandable, readily usable, and backed by our extensive user-research testing with physicians. …
Patient Navigators, who assist with improving health literacy and reducing barriers to accessing healthcare, can also fill an essential role in helping patients understand and find clinical trials, and other pre-approval treatment options, such as Expanded Access Programs.
Studies have shown that many people struggle to comprehend health information — and that this can have a negative impact on their health outcomes. It’s estimated that 80 million adults in the United States have limited or low health literacy. …
Within the development process of each drug, it is essential to realize that when clinical studies end, it affects not only the patients who volunteer to participate in a Clinical Trial but also the pharmaceutical company, and thus it is important that companies plan ahead for the implications of Clinical Trial closure or completion from multiple angles.
“Post-Trial Access” (PTA) refers to the provision of a product, either investigational treatment or comparator, to Clinical Trial participants following trial completion. Post-Trial Access may involve open-label trial extension studies, long-term extension studies, rollover clinical studies, separate protocols, or protocol amendments.
All phases…
September 30, 2020, marks the 2nd annual Rare Cancer Day. It was created by the Rare Cancer Coalition under the auspices of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). This coalition of 27 rare cancer-specific organizations works to bring attention to the issues people living with rare cancers face such as late diagnosis and misdiagnosis, as well as broader issues such as lack of research interest and drug development. This year’s theme focuses on the role that biomarker testing can play in addressing diagnostic challenges as well as in developing and accessing targeted therapies.
What are rare cancers?
Rare cancers are tumors or blood…
Liesbeth van Boxtel knows how important it is to be an advocate for your own health. After facing a complicated cancer diagnosis, undergoing surgery, and being referred to palliative care, Liesbeth is now participating in a Clinical Trial. She has put in a lot of effort to navigate her healthcare throughout these experiences.
“I am very on top of things because it is about me and my body and my life,” said Liesbeth, who is from the Netherlands.
Liesbeth was frustrated by some aspects of the healthcare system, such as a delayed diagnosis, long waits for appointments, and a mix-up…
Around the globe, patients with a life-threatening illness or debilitating condition are often facing a situation where approved or registered drugs are not available, not satisfactory, or have failed to be effective. These patients have an unmet medical need and are increasingly looking to drugs being studied in Clinical Trials as potential treatment options. While the evolution of digital technology has seen the democratization of information across many fields, patients — and sometimes even their physicians — may still struggle to find specific and relevant information about Clinical Trials. Standard internet search tools are simply not equipped for this task…
