Medable Expands Patient Advisory Council to Drive Patient-Centered Improvements in Clinical Trials

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Medable Inc., the leading cloud platform for patient-centered drug development, today announced the addition of four new members to its Patient Advisory Council (PAC). The PAC advises Medable and its biopharma customers on ways to improve patient access, experience, and outcomes in clinical trials. The newest members are long-time advocates, patients and caregivers dedicated to making trials accessible and inclusive for all, regardless of geography, income and race.

Established in February 2020, Medable’s PAC played a vital role over the past year advising Medable teams on product development, patient preferences and key performance indicators. The PAC also advised Medable’s pharma and biotech customers on clinical trial deployments – providing advice, evaluating workflows, reviewing communication, testing usability and improving retention for specific trials.

“No matter how a trial is conducted, it’s imperative that practicality for patients is considered from the beginning,” said Jennifer McNary, chair of Medable’s PAC and a long-time patient advocate with 15 years of clinical trial experience. “How does the trial fit into the patient’s life? Does it work for their caregiver? What would improve their access and experience? Each of us brings a personal patient connection into every study, even though patients may now be using technology to engage in trials remotely from home.”

The PAC also recently expanded its reach by recruiting 15 members for its Patient Champion Network (PCN), which brings additional advocates with specific experiences into the process to consult on specific projects. Patient Champions allow the PAC to tap a wide variety of skill sets and experiences, as well as geographic and demographic diversity. The PCN recently added Medable’s first international patient advocate.

“Firstly, I am living with cancer with an artificial heart valve. Secondly, I am a physician-researcher and clinical trialist by profession,” said Dr. Gaurav Dave, one of the four new PAC members. “My goal in life is to elevate the intersectionality between my lived experiences as a patient and my research know-how as a clinician. I joined the Medable PAC to bring both perspectives to inform clinical trial conduct, stakeholder engagement, and human-centered trial design.”

New PAC members announced today include:

Sumaira Ahmed

Sumaira is currently a marketing director at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. Shortly after being diagnosed with sero-negative Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) in 2014, she founded The Sumaira Foundation to raise global awareness and find a cure for NMO. Prior to working in marketing/public relations, Sumaira worked as an actress/model in Bangladesh and India, starring in numerous music videos, a documentary and an English-language independent film. In 2010, Sumaira earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Boston University’s College of Communication.

Gaurav Dave, MD

Dr. Dave is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Director of the Center for Health Equity Research, and Director of Abacus Evaluation Consulting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has over 15 years of clinical, public health research, and evaluation experience. His research focuses on reducing health disparities associated with cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Dave has a medical degree from the University of Pune and worked as an emergency physician in Mumbai, India. He also has a Masters and Doctorate in Public Health, specializing in stakeholder engagement, participatory research, and evaluation.

Allison Kalloo, MPH

Allison is a patient recruitment specialist and the founder of Clinical Ambassador, iParticipate and CliniVIVRE aimed at expanding minority access and impacting diversity, equity and inclusion in clinical research. With a personal mission to bridge cultural divides and break the engagement stalemate in clinical studies, Ms. Kalloo now leads a team to deliver culturally relevant, patient-centric communication solutions to make sense of science, support study participation from front to back, and survey the candid impressions of real patients and the research-naïve lay public. Ms. Kalloo is a graduate of The Madeira School, North Carolina Central University, and Yale School of Public Health.

Paul Kidwell

Paul is a Boston-based public relations and patient advocacy consultant, providing media relations and patient engagement support for biopharmaceutical companies, and a rare disease podcaster. He has been a Parkinson’s caregiver since 2007. Paul’s patient advocacy experience is extensive, having developed and supported patient ambassador programs; patient, caregiver and oncology nurse leadership councils; and patient storytelling. In 2013, Paul and MassBio co-created the Patient Advocacy Summit, an event that focuses on the intersection of patient advocacy and the biotech industry, featuring keynote presentations, panel discussions, case studies, and live patient storytelling. Paul also hosts the podcast Openly Rare with Paul Kidwell which focuses on all aspects of the rare disease sector.

For more information about Medable’s PAC, please click here or follow our dedicated LinkedIn channel. For patient or caregiver advocates who would like to get involved with Medable’s PAC or PCN, please contact Jena Daniels (jena@medable.com).

For ongoing insight about decentralized trial adoption and patient-centered research, follow Medable via its blog, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook channels.

About Medable

Medable is on a mission to get effective therapies to patients faster by transforming clinical drug development with disruptive technologies. The company’s digital platform streamlines design, recruitment, retention and data quality for decentralized trials, replacing siloed systems with integrated digital tools, data and interfaces to accelerate trial execution. Medable connects patients, sites and clinical trial teams to improve patient access, experience, and outcomes. Medable is a privately held, venture-backed company headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

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