Novartis launches FocalView app, providing opportunity for patients to participate in ophthalmology clinical trials from home

Novartis International AG / Novartis launches FocalView app, providing opportunity for patients to participate in ophthalmology clinical trials from home . Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

• FocalView is a first-of-its-kind app designed to modernize ophthalmic clinical trials, making them more accessible and flexible
   

Using patients' self-recorded measurements, FocalView aims to enable more sensitive trial endpoints and more accurate patient-reported outcomes
 

Using the Apple ResearchKit platform, Novartis is making FocalView vision tests freely available to the scientific community

Basel, April 25, 2018 - Novartis announced the launch of its FocalView app, an ophthalmic digital research platform created with ResearchKit. FocalView aims to allow researchers to track disease progression by collecting real-time, self-reported data directly from consenting patients. By adapting the design of clinical trials to suit the daily routine of patients, the app may reduce barriers to participation, leading to a more nuanced understanding of ophthalmic diseases and potentially accelerating the development of novel treatments.

Data capture in traditional ophthalmic clinical trials can be inflexible and infrequent, making it difficult for researchers to monitor patients' disease activity and capture real-world patient experiences. FocalView aims to help patients complete various assessments, gaining feedback on their visual function, including any changes over time. At the same time, the app could provide researchers with a greater volume of real-world, patient-reported data, creating more flexible and accessible clinical trial designs.

"Because patients with eye diseases are often not as mobile, FocalView has the potential to offer tremendous benefit for the ophthalmic community and for researchers looking to develop better treatments for these patients," said Dr. Mark Bullimore, Medical Advisor for the creation of FocalView and Dean of the Southern California College of Optometry, Marshall B. Ketchum University. "Collating validated patient-reported outcomes in clinical trial research is no longer a nice-to-have. This kind of data is fast becoming a critical element of research and development, because it offers a better reflection of real-world patient experiences, fosters better patient compliance and provides researchers with richer and more accurate data points."