Seqster, a San Diego-based healthcare company aiming to build comprehensive patient records, announced Tuesday that it is partnering with the National Pancreas Foundation (NPF) to create the nation’s largest dynamic pancreatic patient disease database. The database could move cutting-edge research forward faster than traditional methods.
Seqster’s technology will power the registry, connecting patient data from wearable/remote monitoring devices, genomic DNA tests and EHR in real time. The company’s platform collects data from an array of sources for their patients, allowing for more comprehensive, cohesive care.
The registry aims to benefit both patients and researchers. First, patients suffering from pancreatic cancer and other diseases like pancreatitits, will have real time access to their comprehensive longitudinal health record, as will their providers. In particular, the database could function as a comprehensive tool to collect health information from a variety of different devices and across multiple providers, allowing for more cohesive care.
“Now is the perfect time to create a dynamic patient registry because Seqster has the technology for real-time real-world data (RWD) collection to power novel insights and accelerated drug discovery. The longitudinal health record is extremely valuable for both patients and research,” said Ardy Arianpour, co-founder and CEO of Seqster in an email.
Pancreatic cancer is the third deadliest cancer in the United States and comprises 3% of cancer cases, according the the press release announcing the partnership. The registry could change the pace of research moving forward.
“NPF’s new registry, powered by Seqster’s technology, is a true leadership initiative that leverages an industry-leading patient-centric platform and allows our institutional partners to analyze, visualize, and query the data leading,” said Jane Holt, NPF Co-Founder in a news release. “ This will lead to a deeper understanding of novel therapies, predictive biomarkers, and significantly improved patient outcomes.”
Arianpour also stressed that the patient registry would preserve privacy for patients.
“We designed our software and our infrastructure from the ground up with privacy and security top of mind,” Arianpur said. “Our servers are hosted on a fully HIPPA-compliant platform that has been certified with the most stringent health care industry security standards, including HITRUST. Our technology is more secure than most hospital systems’ EHRs, which oftentimes use rather dated encryption for data storage.”
While this would enable research and speed up drug development in pancreatic diseases, Seqster has other partnerships aimed toward speeding up clinical trials. Japanese firm Takeda, which is an investor in Seqster, also has a partnership agreement whereby it uses Seqster’s platform to engage patients and enroll them in clinical trials.
Photo: mikdam, Getty Images
