A Germany-based pharmaceutical multinationalâs Canadian arm is set to trial IBM blockchain in Canada in a bid to raise the quality of clinical trials.
Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) announced Tuesday that it has partnered with IBM âto improve trust, transparency, patient safety and patient empowerment in clinical trialsâ using the tech giantâs blockchain platform.
The firm said the trial aims to address quality issues with clinical trial processes and records, which are currently âoften erroneous or incompleteâ and could potentially put patient safety at risk.
The project will test how blockchain can help provide a decentralized framework that preserves the integrity of data, provides âprovenance and transparency,â and enables the automation of processes, ultimately boosting patient safety and reducing costs.
âThe clinical trial ecosystem is highly complex as it involves different stakeholders, resulting in limited trust, transparency and process inefficiencies without true patient empowerment,â said Dr. Uli Brödl, vice president for medical and regulatory affairs at Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada).
IBM Canadaâs general manager for services, Claude Guay, said:
âWeâve been using blockchain in other industries, and we are now investigating how we can use this technology to give Canadian patients the same level of security and trust when it comes to their personal health information.â
Other major pharmaceutical firms have also been exploring the potential benefits of integrating blockchain tech. In January 2018, Pfizer, Amgen and Sanofi were eyeing blockchain as a way of streamlining the process of developing and testing new drugs.
Last June, Merck was seeking a patent for a way to use blockchain in order to track goods as they move through the supply chain and tackle the issue of counterfeit meds. Indian government think tank NITI Aayog was also working on a blockchain solution aimed to combat the countryâs roaring counterfeit drugs trade last April.
Test tubes in medical lab image via ShutterstockÂ