The Novartis-backed Multiple Sclerosis Implementation Network (MSIN) has joined forces with Seqster, harnessing the company’s data sharing operating system for a push to improve the management of the neurological disease.
Novartis worked with the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America to set up the MSIN last year. When the network launched, Dharmesh Patel, medical unit head, neuroscience at Novartis, framed the initiative as a way to ensure “the right treatments and clinical interventions reach the right patients in a timely manner.”
Data sharing is central to how Novartis and its partners aim to achieve that goal. That is where Seqster comes in. The company is focused on breaking down silos and enabling access to de-identified health data, a mission that has led it to a Takeda deal and investment and alliance with United BioSource.
CEO and founder Ardy Arianpour discussed his company’s role in the MSIN, explaining that the network's need to facilitate data sharing and combine different sources “is where Seqster really shines.”
“We're able to create a longitudinal health record on any patient. At the same time, through our consent management system in the Seqster operating system, those patients are able to share that data with multiple different parties. Not only are they sharing it with different care centers, they're sharing it with the researchers, they're sharing it with the pharmaceutical company,” Arianpour said.
Everything is now set up and Seqster is “excited to really scale the onboarding process with the partners to get as much data as possible” to patients and researchers, the CEO said. The project will use Seqster’s 1-Click Records feature to retrieve patients’ longitudinal health records, which can then be used to check if they are eligible for studies and for other purposes.