Clinical trials are essential in developing new, improved, and more effective treatments and interventions. Without trials, researchers and professionals in the field cannot properly determine whether these new treatments and interventions are safe and effective.
Furthermore, when larger group testing occurs, this allows researchers to identify and ensure that any improvements resulting from the intervention occurs for as many people as possible and are not just occurring in one individual.
Ahead of the J.P. Morgan Health Conference in San Francisco in January 2023, Australian Health Journal met with Clinials CEO & Founder Maree Beare about developing the next generation recruitment platform and digital marketing service for clinical research. Maree talks about the reasons why clinical trials can fail and the importance of bringing participants much more closer to researchers.
With this need, the Clinials platform is geared towards patient centric trials and reducing site burden. The aim is to accelerate lifesaving medicines coming to market by connecting participants and researchers. The platform allows participants to come to researchers with their eligibility in hand among other capabilities.
Supporting CRO’s, sites and sponsors, the Clinials platform uses AI to convert complex trial protocol into plain language and pre-screening questions. This gives researchers the tools to communicate with their participants meaningfully. The plain language text can be used in a variety of situations like researcher led advertising, landing pages and plain language summaries.
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Bionic eye trial shows improvements in functional vision for retinitis pigmentosa
Results of the first clinical trial of Australia’s ‘second generation’ bionic eye have demonstrated ‘substantial improvement’ in four participants’ functional vision, daily activities and quality of life over a period of more than two and a half years.
Led by the Centre for Eye Research Australia, Bionics Institute, University of Melbourne and Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, the trial findings add to interim results which showed that the second-generation bionic eye developed by Australian company Bionic Vision Technologies provided rapid improvements for four patients with blindness caused the genetic eye condition retinitis pigmentosa.
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Investigating use of dietary supplements for osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability affecting over 2 million Australians, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on Chronic musculoskeletal conditions (2024) and 595 million people globally, according to BD 2021 Osteoarthritis Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of osteoarthritis, 1990–2020. It represents a significant public health burden that diminishes quality of life among ageing populations.
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The quest to create an Australian framework for a Palliative Care Pharmacist
Helen Stone is the State and Territory Manager SA & NT for the Pharmaceutical Society Australia. Her professional interests include palliative care, pharmacist professional services, mental health, leadership, and management.
She has recently led teams of pharmacists in innovative pharmacy practice models including in aged care, GP practice, palliative care and dementia support. This has contributed to the body of evidence for sustainable funding for embedded pharmacist roles in primary care and aged care settings.
