FindMeCure is an online platform allowing every person struggling with a medical condition to access treatments in development.
Medical science has been rapidly advancing in recent decades and we can prove that with many examples: new therapies for diabetes, the first vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer, first Lupus drug in fifty years, immunotherapy and more.
It usually takes ten years for a treatment to develop into its full capacity.
Why ten years you might ask?
Well, this is the average period required for a new drug, a medical device or a procedure to be tested and evaluated as to whether it is safe and efficient for patients with a particular condition.
If you have ever wondered how scientists come to such conclusions and achievements, I can give you a simple answer – through clinical trials.
Clinical trials are an integral part of the drug development process: without them, modern therapies would never reach the ones in need. What’s more, it’s a way for patients to have innovative treatment years before it becomes available in the pharmacies or hospitals.
Being tested on animals, healthy volunteers and then patients with a given condition, a compound is potentially turned into a promising medicine that can change or even save one’s life.
After researchers test the product in the laboratory and in animal studies, the successful treatments move on to clinical research, where they are tested on people who volunteer to be study participants.
Throughout the study, information is collected to answer specific research questions:
It is safe? Researchers evaluate the drug/device to see if it is safe and how well it’s tolerated while documenting any reported side effects.
Does it work? The drug/device is evaluated to see how much is needed and how well it works compared to either a placebo or the current standard treatment if one exists.
Who is it for? The trial is used to define categories of patients the investigational product is most appropriate for treating, including the type of disease, severity and other criteria.
What can we learn? Trials can help researchers gain a better understanding of how a disease affects not only the human body but also people’s lives.
Did you know that there are also clinical trials for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)?
There are over 300 studies worldwide looking at all kinds of treatments from invasive interventions to adaptive strategies. One of these trials may turn out to be a promising treatment in the (very near) future.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an unforgiving condition. We must think of it as not only causing physical pain and visible malformations of the body.
For many people arthritis impacts their quality of life, ability to work and mental health state. The scope and complexity of this condition, leads many pharmaceutical companies to invest in clinical trials to further better treatment options and hopefully – a permanent cure.
Actually, the most prescribed therapy for RA was discovered more than twenty years ago. This is a lot of time given the speed at which medical science has been advancing and the new technologies now available.
The good news is that the innovative therapies we will have in ten years from now are actually available today, in clinical trials.
Now people have the option to search, understand and find the most suitable clinical trial for themselves online.
The platform is dedicated to providing easier and faster accessibility to all these solutions we initially thought belonged to the future.
A person can type their condition area and location in the search, then be able to see what clinical trials are being conducted near them. As well as, read all the important information in a simple language and apply for participation (for free).
Then within a few days, they are connected with the doctor in charge of the trial who can answer all their questions and determine whether they would be eligible to take part in the study.
The unique algorithm allows assessing trials on their safety and credibility, but can suggest trials relevant to patients’ needs and personal criteria.
By taking part in research, people are contributing to the advancement of medicine through bringing new and more effective therapies to the public much sooner.
The value of clinical trial participation is that we can help millions of people. while at the same time helping ourselves.
If you are curious what’s out there, take the first step by visiting, FindMeCure.
