AiCure, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) on mobile devices to visually confirm medication ingestion, are the winners of the 2016 Scrip Award in the category of Best Technological Development in Clinical Trials. Judges from industry, academia and finance rewarded the artificial intelligence platform for its unique contribution in driving efficiencies and quality data in clinical research.

Thirty to fifty percent of clinical trials fail because patients do not take the medication according to the protocol, amounting to billions of dollars lost and much-needed drugs not getting to market. 

“AiCure is the only clinically-validated and scalable platform to confirm medication ingestion on mobile devices. Changing patient behavior and ensuring accurate data on a dose by dose basis has the potential to transform and streamline the clinical trial process,” said Adam Hanina, CEO and Chairman of AiCure. “We are very grateful to the Scrip judges for recognizing our company as best in class.”
In addition to AiCure’s work in clinical research, the artificial intelligence company is also working in population health deployments to improve health outcomes in high-risk patient populations, where treatment completion and consistent adherence to therapy are critical to avoid costly hospitalizations, drug resistance, or increased transmission rates such as in stroke, tuberculosis, or hepatitis C (HCV). Unlike video-based recordings or live streamed systems that require 1:1 monitoring, the AI platform relies on a 1:many model, using software algorithms to automatically identify the patient, the medication, and medication ingestion. Real-time data, including side effects, are transferred to centralized dashboards for analysis.

AiCure is currently involved in several collaborations to demonstrate treatment equivalence to in-person observation, such as with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Tuberculosis Control Program, who is utilizing AI to monitor adherence to treatment in patients with TB disease and latent TB infection.

The company is also working with pharmaceutical companies to replicate the same outcomes in real-world settings as were achieved during the clinical trial process, such as high efficacy rates and sustained viral response in HCV treatment. As payers move towards outcomes-based contracting models, solutions that are able to have an effect on outcomes will become increasingly valuable.

The opportunity size for AI in healthcare is estimated at $54 billion in terms of annual cost savings, spanning drug discovery and population health. While many companies are active in the medication adherence space with claims about changing patient behavior, few solutions are validated or show an effect on adherence or health outcomes. AiCure is building up an evidence base in both clinical research and clinical practice by validating the platform against drug concentration levels in the blood and showing a clear separation between patients monitored in real time by the platform and patients monitored by traditional measures such as pill counts, self-reported data, or treatment as usual.