PPD, and its real-world research and market access business unit, Evidera, have joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Biomedical Innovation’s New Drug Development Paradigms (NEWDIGS) initiative as a strategic partner.
According to the organization, NEWDIGS is a collaborative “think and do” tank, which provides members with a non-competitive environment to help deliver “new, better, affordable therapeutics to the right patients faster.”
Evidera participated in MIT’s Next Wave Forum last December, which helped to establish its relationship with NEWDIGS, a PPD spokesperson told us.
“Becoming a NEWDIGS strategic partner is an extension of our numerous ongoing efforts to innovate in real-world research (RWE), patient-centered research, pragmatic trials and platform trials,” they added.
As a strategic partner, Evidera will participate in the new Learning Ecosystems Accelerator for Patient-Centered, Sustainable Innovation (LEAPS) project, through which it will design and pilot an ecosystem for “purpose-driven evidence generation and integration” focused on a critical disease area.
“The project aims to create sustainable, commercially viable and scalable tools – including platform trial infrastructure and its extension into community health care settings – to drive more value faster to patients in ways that work for all stakeholders in health care development and delivery,” the spokesperson explained.
PPD is the first contract research organization (CRO) to join NEWDIGs, a move which the company said helps expand its list of global collaborators.
“Our work with NEWDIGS will help us to stay on the cutting edge of innovative methods and will keep us connected with other industry thought leaders,” the spokesperson added. ‘’It is an example of our commitment to innovation, new approaches, industrywide collaboration, improving the health care system and ultimately bringing life-changing therapies to patients.”