Thread has acquired technology firm Cureclick, continuing a string of recent acquisitions designed to expand its decentralized trials business.
The deal–financial terms of which were not disclosed–was prompted by Costa Mesa, California-based Cureclick’s “crowdsourcing” platform, which is designed to raise awareness about trials and thereby increase participation. For the uninitiated, crowdsourcing involves enlisting the help of a large disparate network of people to disseminate ideas, share information or otherwise generate discussion about a particular topic though a range of social media channels.
The Cureclick platform is comprised of a network of more than 6,500 “ambassadors,” patient advocates and influencers covering 75 therapeutic areas. Cureclick claims the network has access to more than 1 million patients around the world. Cureclick also says the platform has been used to support more than 450 studies since the firm was set up in 2013.
Cureclick founder Fabio Gratton, who has joined Thread as chief experience officer, told us an effective patient recruitment strategy should include as many partners as possible.
“The crowdsourcing approach is a win/win for everyone involved because it's the most inclusive. It ensures that anyone and everyone can participate in the process: from individual patient influencers to large patient communities, from pure-play technology players to expert recruitment vendors," Gratton said. "So now, sponsors don't have to manage dozens of partners, and, most importantly, it helps ensure that no patient is left behind.”
The takeover builds on the partnership the firms established in March 2021 that sought to “highlight potentially life-saving decentralized clinical trials within targeted social media networks to achieve increased enrollment, retention and satisfaction rates.”
Cureclick joins voice research technology developer inVibe and Modus Outcomes on the list of recent Thread acquisitions. Like the two previous deals, the aim is to strengthen Thread’s place in the growing decentralized trial services market.
According to a recent report from a market research company, the global decentralized clinical trials market was valued at $7.2 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at a rate of 6.95% over the next decade.