PicnicHealth is setting down its lunch basket full of real-world data in the oncology market, and AstraZeneca is bringing dessert.
The healthcare technology company has previously worked with chronic disease but now plans to take its real-world data approach to cancer, according to a Monday press release.
PicnicHealth aims to advance cancer research by working with patients to collect and structure their medical records data. The company plans to focus on early-stage colorectal, bladder and prostate cancers. These data can help researchers understand and evaluate different treatment options.
The work in breast cancer has attracted AstraZeneca, the maker of Enhertu, for a multiyear partnership to work on real-world development for early-stage disease. PicnicHealth will be building a registry to collect the data from a cohort of consenting U.S. patients who receive a diagnosis of stage 1-3 breast cancer. The registry is now open and will allow patients to organize and centralize their complete medical records into a usable portal. The data can also be de-identified for use in breast cancer research.
“Existing breast cancer datasets focus on care provided within the oncology specialist setting, but don’t necessarily paint a complete picture of the patient's journey before cancer, their early journey being diagnosed with cancer, or their experience after cancer,” said Carlos Doti, M.D., vice president and head of U.S. oncology medical affairs at AstraZeneca. “Through our partnership with PicnicHealth, we hope to better understand the full patient experience, address new research questions, and ultimately improve patient outcomes and the overall experience of people living with breast cancer.”
Last summer, PicnicHealth raised a $60 million series C for its mission to organize medical records for the good of research. The company previously worked with Roche’s Genentech division to aggregate patient medical records for biomedical research in multiple sclerosis and other diseases.