US-based clinical trial technology specialist Paradigm Health has agreed to purchase Roche-owned Flatiron Health’s clinical research division.
Through this acquisition, Paradigm will integrate Flatiron’s clinical research solutions into its own portfolio of AI-powered systems. This includes OncoEMR and Clinical Pipe, which serve as an electronic health record (EHR) system for community oncology and a data streamlining service, respectively.
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The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Paradigm will also gain access to Flatiron’s US-based clinical infrastructure and network, which includes more than 25 academic medical centres and nearly 100 community oncology practices across the country. Of these, 23 are National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated.
By merging with Flatiron, Paradigm will also acquire capacity to conduct embedded Phase IV trials, which can be run alongside routine care to expedite the generation of real-world data in the post-market approval setting.
According to Paradigm’s CEO Kent Thoelke, the company’s multi-year collaboration with Flatiron will accelerate the pair’s US impact, meaning that “trials can happen where patients actually receive care”.
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By GlobalDataFlatiron is a fully owned subsidiary of Swiss pharma giant Roche, having been acquired by the big pharma company for $1.9bn in 2018.
Paradigm secures $78m for routine care trial advancement
Alongside its acquisition of Flatiron, Paradigm announced a tranche of funding to support the incorporation of clinical trials into routine care.
The company secured $78m through an oversubscribed Series B financing led by its incubator and prominent life science venture capital company ARCH Ventures.
According to Thoelke, this investment round will help to improve trial accessibility for patients in the rural and community setting, which could “enable any health system to participate in research with dramatically fewer resources”.
This comes at a time when patient recruitment rates for trials are struggling to keep up with the demand of fast growing clinical development pipelines.
In a LinkedIn post, Thoelke further homed in on the importance of running more inclusive trials.
He said: “Too many patients—especially those in community and rural settings—never get the chance to participate. Their perspectives don’t show up in the data, which slows down development, increases cost, and ultimately leaves gaps in the care they receive.”
Underrepresentation of patients in rural settings is one the enrolment concerns aired by the industry – others include the lagging involvement of female participants.
In guidance released last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) stressed the importance of diversity past race, gender and sexuality – urging clinical trial operators to include patients who originate from low-middle income countries, as well as pregnant and lactating individuals.
