BlueRock to leverage data platform in Parkinson’s study

BlueRock Therapeutics will leverage a data platform from software company Rune Labs to monitor Parkinson’s disease patients in a new observational study.

BlueRock will use StriveStudy, Rune Labs’ clinical trial platform featuring data collection and patient monitoring tools, to capture a holistic picture of Parkinson’s disease activity and to better engage patients in the study.

The partnership is the first deployment of Rune Labs’ StriveStudy clinical trial platform, which enables more efficient studies of disease-modifying therapeutics to treat movement disorders. 

BlueRock will leverage Rune Labs’ Apple Watch-enabled data collection and remote patient monitoring tools in a non-interventional study, providing real-world, continuous capture of Parkinson’s symptom data.

The StriveStudy platform will capture data from people with Parkinson’s to gain a better understanding of individual disease experience and build a dataset to characterise baseline symptom activity. 

BlueRock can also leverage StriveStudy to monitor patient compliance by tracking how often they wear the Apple Watch in the study, as well as to improve the study experience for patients by streamlining data collection.

Rune Labs CEO Brian Pepin, commented: “Parkinson’s disease research has been limited in the past because there is no easy-to-measure, singular set of symptoms that each patient experiences – people with Parkinson’s have a wide array of symptoms that vary from person to person and frequently fluctuate. Historically, clinical researchers have used patient-reported questionnaires to assess symptoms, but they’re a subjective tool that fails to capture the dynamic nature of the disease.

“Together, BlueRock and Rune Labs will remotely collect longitudinal and objective data directly from patients to create a comprehensive image of Parkinson’s symptoms. By establishing a baseline symptom dataset, we will be able to fully capture the benefits of novel advanced therapies, increasing the efficiency of clinical trials in the future.”

This partnership paves the way for Rune Labs to streamline and enhance subsequent trials of BlueRock’s stem cell-based therapy bemdaneprocel (BRT-DA01).

BlueRock will be able to incorporate baseline and follow-up data collected via StriveStudy, including dyskinesias, into subsequent data analysis, thereby enabling a deeper understanding of BRT-DA01’s therapeutic benefit.

Seth Ettenberg, President and CEO of BlueRock Therapeutics, added: “Up until now, clinical trials have relied on patients with Parkinson’s disease to self-report their symptoms. Now, thanks to new technologies like Rune Labs’ platform, we have new tools to measure and assess disease progression.

“We look forward to exploring with Rune Labs how objective and continuous measurements of disease progression can help us develop more effective therapies to treat Parkinson’s disease.”

Learn more about services included in StriveStudy here.