PatientsLikeMe, a patient network and a real-time research platform, has formed a five-year agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to explore using PatientsLikeMe’s global online patient network to develop innovative ways to research patients’ real-world experiences with disease and treatment. The agreement is the first broad research collaboration between PatientsLikeMe and a pharmaceutical company and provides PatientsLikeMe the opportunity to expand its patient network in oncology.

“We envision a world where patient experience drives the way diseases are measured and medical advances are made. Genentech’s leadership and commitment to this mission brings us closer to having patients at the true center of healthcare,” said Jamie Heywood, PatientsLikeMe co-founder and chairman.

The five-year agreement provides Genentech the opportunity to utilize PatientsLikeMe’s Global Network Access, a new service for pharmaceutical companies that delivers a range of data, research and tools. The service includes:

• Access to PatientsLikeMe’s network to enable cross-sectional research and broader discovery of patient insights
• Enhanced customized research services and capabilities
• Focused research projects to evaluate and develop new medical evidence, measures and standards of health
• Access to PatientsLikeMe’s clinical trial awareness tool, which allows patients to learn about clinical trials.