Withings Joins Decentralized Trials & Research Alliance (DTRA) To Democratize And Accelerate Clinical Trials

BOSTON, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Withings, early pioneers of the connected health revolution, joins an historic alliance of fifty life sciences and healthcare organizations that seeks to accelerate the broad adoption of patient-focused, decentralized clinical trials and research. The "Decentralized Trials & Research Alliance (DTRA)," which launched December 10th, 2020, plans to unite industry stakeholders, including healthcare companies, regulators, patient groups and research organizations with a singular mission to make clinical trial participation widely accessible by advancing policies, research practices and new technologies in decentralized clinical research.

"We've built the largest ecosystem of clinically-validated connected health devices available with the aim to provide unparalleled heath insights and real-world data that can lead to real changes in people's lives and improvements in the overall healthcare system," said Mathieu Letombe, CEO of Withings. "We are proud to be part of DTRA, joining forces with likeminded organizations and healthcare leaders, to make clinical trials more accessible and streamlined for all industry stakeholders."

"We are extremely gratified to welcome Withings to the 'Decentralized Trials & Research Alliance," said Amir Kalali, MD, founder of several collaborative life science communities, and co-convenor of DTRA. "By advancing decentralized research we can make the clinical trial process more patient-focused, increase trial efficiency and encourage use of technologies. We are excited by Withings commitment to embracing decentralized trials and to changing the culture that has been the rate limiter to innovation."

Experts estimate that COVID-19 may set back non-pandemic clinical trials by several years due to prospective patients' inability or reluctance to schedule visits at physical research locations. Decentralized approaches to conducting research facilitate participation by a more diverse patient population and could ease COVID-19-imposed difficulties for both patients and clinical investigators. Inclusion of representative patient populations in clinical trials by race, age and geographic location has long been an operational challenge.  COVID-19 has amplified the disparities and inclusion biases that have become hurdles for potential trial participants. 

"Now is the time to share ideas and insights that will chart the future course of clinical trials, accelerating drug development and saving lives – and by taking part in the DTRA, Withings is demonstrating its leadership to drive change," said Craig Lipset, DTRA co-convener, clinical innovation advisor, and a pioneer in decentralized trials.  "We have a responsibility to advance the health of people with unmet medical needs, and by convening stakeholders from pharma companies, regulators, technology leaders and patient communities, we can remove remaining barriers to adoption and impact patients today."

Withings joins with its peer DTRA Member organizations to provide expertise to identify and address gaps and needs and advance best practices through effective education and communication. Withings urges other organizations interested in taking part to visit DTRA.org.

ABOUT DTRA:

The Decentralized Trials & Research Alliance (DTRA) was convened to enable collaboration of stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of patient-focused, decentralized clinical trials and research within life sciences and healthcare through education and research. It works to make research participation accessible to everyone, enabled by the consistent, widespread adoption of appropriate decentralized research methods. Follow DTRA on Twitter and LinkedIn for more information.

About Withings

Withings B2B division is dedicated to healthcare professionals. Its mission is to continuously and effortlessly provide healthcare professionals with medical-grade data generated by patients from an ecosystem of connected devices. For more than a decade, Withings has built a range of award-winning products, including activity trackers, connected scales, a wireless blood pressure monitor, a smart temporal thermometer, and an advanced sleep system. From remote patient monitoring and clinical research to chronic disease management, Withings has created dedicated solutions that provide the richest array of accurate real-world data. This includes its complete ecosystem of connected devices, data connectivity options, and remote patient monitoring platform.

For more information, visit: www.withings.com/for-professionals.

For further information please contact:

Media Contact:
DTRA
Glenn Silver
Lazar – Finn Partners
[email protected] 
646 871 8485

Withings
Cara Morgan
Tandem Marketing Communications for Withings
[email protected]
713-829-1794

SOURCE Withings