SCRS Congratulates 2023 SPRIA and Site Tank Award Recipients
October 16, 2023 – The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) has announced that AlzWell and Cedar Health Research are the respective recipients of the 2023 Site Tank Award and Site Patient Recruitment Innovation Achievement Award (SPRIA).
Site Tank, sponsored by Pfizer, recognizes a research site that has developed an innovative technology concept designed to enhance, empower and improve clinical research operations. For the Site Tank competition, AlzWell showcased its AI technology that works with Large Language Models (LLMs) to collect patient data and match them with clinical trials.
Nicholas Focil, CEO of AlzWell shared, “One of the biggest struggles in the industry is giving patients access to the right clinical trial. New technologies have helped us develop an AI algorithm that empowers and automates the matching process and can determine whether a patient is eligible for any Dementia trial in a matter of seconds. With AlzWell’s mobile application, we hope to empower Alzheimer’s patients directly and revolutionize the clinical trial matching industry.”
Sponsored by StudyKIK, SPRIA recognizes a research site that has developed and implemented an innovative patient recruitment program. Cedar Heath Research received the award by highlighting the results of their Aspen Forge platform, which integrated with 500+ physicians and their EMRs for direct access to patient health records. The platform also allowed for better patient connectivity, identification, and recruitment, reducing tedious chart review from 45,000 potential practice patient matches to 1,894 qualified candidates engaged, exceeding sponsor enrollment goals by 150%.
“Cedar Health Research was started with the intent to improve patient recruitment in clinical research through community healthcare partnerships. From our inception, we’ve built our organization around innovation to support our recruitment efforts with direct integration of AI/ML patient matching software with EMRs,” says Cedar Health Research CEO, Todd Albin. “Our primary goal is to increase access to clinical trials for both providers and patients alike by reducing barriers of entry through lowering mistrust through deep provider partnerships and patient engagement. With our efforts, we’re seeing accelerated enrollment of diverse populations on our trials and we’re honored to be recognized as the recipient of the 2023 Site Patient Recruitment and Innovation Award.”
Jimmy Bechtel, SCRS Vice President of Site Engagement, added, “SCRS congratulates this year’s SPRIA and Site Tank Award winners – AlzWell and Cedar Health Research – for their commitment to advancing clinical research site operations. As the industry strives for enhanced efficiency and engagement with trial participants, these visionary sites have shown us all what is possible when dedication meets innovation. By creating both site and patient-centric solutions, they have transformed patient recruitment initiatives and optimized the performance of their organizations. We were deeply inspired by all the submissions, and eagerly anticipate the positive impact their strategies will have for the future of clinical research.”
Three finalists for each award were chosen by an independent selection committee. After finalists presented their initiatives at the Global Site Solutions Summit, winners were chosen by a panel of judges and announced at the SCRS Eagle Award Gala & Awards Dinner in Hollywood, Florida. For more information about the Global Site Solutions Summit and awards, visit sitesolutionssummit.com.
About the Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS)
The Society for Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) is the leading advocacy organization dedicated to unifying the voice of the global clinical research site community. Representing more than 10,000 sites in 47 countries, SCRS facilitates industry collaborations and conversations dedicated to site-focused advocacy, education, mentorship and connection. SCRS is an active and influential champion for sites in industry initiatives to ensure that the perspective of sites is heard and valued. Learn more and get involved at myscrs.org. Our voice. Our community. Your success.
