Australian start-up Imagine If Health has announced a new collaboration with WEHI that aims to enable the streamlined integration of real-world evidence collection with oncology managed access programs (MAPs).
The company said MAPs enable patient access to medicines in advance of reimbursement. However, they often go unused as a data source.
It said the collaboration with the Gibbs lab at WEHI has the potential to enable biopharmaceutical companies to collect real-world evidence as part of their access program management and understand drug effectiveness outside of the tightly controlled conditions of randomised controlled trials.
Founder and CEO of Imagine If Health, Jason Macey, said data generated from patients enrolled in MAPs can be used to inform treatment decisions and routine care and to advocate for funding approvals.
“WEHI’s Gibbs lab are leaders in academic-led, real-world evidence collection, with over a decade of experience in the field,” he said.
“This collaboration presents a significant opportunity for companies with medicines in oncology and haematology to include prospective real-world evidence collection in a robust and structured manner.
“When collected in real-time, this evidence can offer huge value and help support better decision-making.”
Professor Peter Gibbs, laboratory head and joint head of the personalised oncology division at WEHI said the collaboration offered a smart solution for accelerating robust research on emerging cancer treatments.
“By integrating into the Imagine If Health platform and ensuring all the relevant ethical research governance, it is possible to collect rich data in real-time and offer this to help improve access to oncology medicines,” he said.