Taproot Health™ Expands First-of-Its-Kind Oncology Database and Research Marketplace

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Taproot Health™ announced today that it had taken the next step in expanding its first-of-its-kind transparent data marketplace for cancer research. A data-as-a-service enterprise that unites all oncology stakeholders, Taproot’s unique model is now stepping up the enrollment of oncologists, with the goal of enrolling patients by the third quarter of 2020.

“Every day, 1600 Americans die from cancer. The challenge of this disease is too big a problem for any one group to solve,” says company Founder and CEO, Dane Dickson, M.D. “The lack of access to comprehensive real-world data hinders efforts to treat patients with new treatments, creates obstacles for research and testing, and halts the use of precision medicine. That is why we developed this unique approach: prospectively collect regulatory-grade oncology data at the point of care and generate the highest research value for real-world clinical evidence. With the Taproot research marketplace, all stakeholders—from oncologists to patients to pharmaceutical companies to academics—will benefit.”

Taproot introduced ROOT™, a novel Master Observational Trial, earlier this year in a peer-reviewed publication, along with three initial NCI cancer centers that will participate in the data collection effort. ROOT is the vehicle that enables patients and clinicians to identify, collect, and share real-time, real-world cancer data.

Taproot collects patient-consented, regulatory-grade data from late-stage cancer patients across the nation into a single, comprehensive database of real-time patient testing, treatment, experience, and matched outcomes data. Taproot will then allow access to this information through its research marketplace. These insights will help to advance precision medicine and accelerate patient access to novel testing and new cancer therapies considerably faster than the 10-15 years it currently takes.

“Every piece of patient data is valuable for research, but only when that data is well-defined and when we know what questions to ask,” said Rebecca Owens, President and Co-Founder of Taproot. “Furthermore, how that data is combined is omnipotent. Through our 20 years of experience in cancer diagnostics and oncology, we have developed a comprehensive plan for collecting data at the point of care and transparently making it accessible. Taproot will unite the oncology community to actualize precision medicine and make personalized medicine a reality.”

In addition to improving real-world data collection methods, Taproot’s approach is unique in the industry in four other ways.

  • Helps get more patients tested by genomic sequencing. Taproot helps clinics identify patients who can benefit from existing targeted therapies, qualify for novel clinical trials, or be candidates for further biomarker testing.
  • Combines patient data with research-grade clinical data from oncologists. Taproot brings the ability to collect real-world, real-time observational data and combine it with research-grade clinical data from practicing oncologists. It’s the ability to combine patient and clinical data that makes Taproot’s database so valuable to all oncology stakeholders.
  • Includes a scientific framework that enables world-class research—the ROOT database. The adaptability and modularity of ROOT allow the advancement of projects in drug discovery, molecular testing, and AI/machine learning. It also serves as a gateway to more detailed observational studies or interventional trials. The ROOT dataset can be used as a benchmark to validate other real-world data efforts, both retrospectively and prospectively.
  • Captures data from cancer patients cared for by both community and academic oncologists. More than 80 percent of cancer patients are cared for in community-based clinics. It has been historically difficult for oncologists to participate in trials because of the administrative cost and time constraints. Taproot partners with oncologists and shares revenue to offset these barriers to participation. Through streamlined methods and a partnership model, Taproot enables both community clinics and academic centers to collect the most valuable, regulatory-grade data needed to accelerate cancer research.

Taproot’s publication on the MOT validated a novel scientific framework for the broad collection of real-world data that is necessary to generate real-world evidence to fight cancer. Through this publication, commitment of oncology clinics, and expansion of oncologist recruitment, Taproot is well on its way to meeting its objectives.

About Taproot Health™

Taproot Health is uniting all oncology stakeholders in launching the National Oncology Master Observational Trial, clinical network and database to establish the “gold standard” of real-world oncology data. Co-founded by oncology veterans who have committed their careers to solving gaps in cancer care delivery, Taproot is changing the game by working with patients and medical providers to contribute much-needed—and never before available—observational data. This one-of-a-kind real-world registry of de-identified patient data is transparent and accessible by all. The data can be analyzed to gain new insights about which therapy is the best option for particular patients—actualizing the power of precision medicine. For more information, visit www.taprootco.com.

Contacts
Joy Scott | Scott Public Relations
joy@scottpublicrelations.com
818-610-0270