With an estimated three billion smart phones now in use worldwide, clinical researchers and support companies are working to catch up with how patients want to participate in clinical trials. This powerful mobile trend is very much at the heart of a recent announcement by Greenphire and mProve Health. The two companies are joining forces to allow clinical trial patients real-time mobile access via their cell phones for a range of support functions. This includes the ability to be paid by trial sponsors electronically and make travel arrangements.

Clinical trial network Wing aims to spike patient enrollment with sponsor participation

One of the persistent problems in the clinical trials industry is that of low patient enrollment. According to a study published last year in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 18% of publicly funded clinical cancer trials either closed with low enrollment or had accrued less than half of their target enrollment three years after the start of the clinical trial. With that problem in mind, Philadelphia-based VitalTrax has launched a commercial product called Wing—a clinical trial network designed to provide patients, caregivers and physicians an efficient, streamlined way of finding and enrolling in clinical trials.

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