Verana Health, Foundation Fighting Blindness partner to enhance clinical trials with genomics data

Verana Health, a digital health company, has joined forces with the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the foremost organization dedicated to discovering treatments and cures for blinding retinal diseases to provide the life sciences community with extensive and in-depth data, expediting and optimizing clinical trials. The Foundation will supply Verana with de-identified genomics data from its My Retina Tracker Registry, focusing on patients with inherited retinal degenerative diseases.

“We are excited to partner with the Foundation Fighting Blindness to provide the life sciences community with comprehensive real-world evidence to optimize and expedite clinical research, specifically surrounding patients with inherited retinal diseases,” said Lawrence Whittle, President, Verana Health. “This partnership and the subsequent data will allow us to pioneer the next frontier in RWE, and potentially identify specific biomarkers that may hold clues to improved and more targeted therapies.”

This partnership capitalizes on the Foundation’s de-identified genomics and patient-reported data, encompassing tens of thousands of individuals with inherited retinal degenerative diseases. This data will bolster commercial real-world evidence (RWE) clinical research initiatives. The Foundation Fighting Blindness offers complimentary genetic testing for individuals with inherited retinal diseases, screening for 351 genetic mutations linked to retinal disease. This information will be integrated, using privacy-preserving tokens, with Verana’s VeraQ population health data engine, which contains real-world electronic health record data from the American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS Registry. This amalgamated dataset will empower life sciences companies to enhance the precision of their clinical research, patient recruitment, and clinician engagement efforts.