Private Access Inc., an Aliso Viejo healthcare information technology startup, wants to fix what it calls a “very broken” process of getting people to take part in trials of new drugs and medical devices.
The company is putting together a Web site that will allow people with health conditions to link up with researchers conducting trials.
Clinical trials are key for drug and device makers,results sometimes can make or break a company.
The goal of Private Access is to cut the time that it takes to get people into clinical trials from six to 12 months now to what President Marc Kirshbaum calls “Internet speed.”
The company has raised $2 million from friends and family and is getting ready to seek venture capital funding, founder and Chief Executive Robert Shelton said.
“Whether it’s venture capitalists or otherwise, they get what we’re doing,” said Kirshbaum, who previously worked for Experian Group Ltd., which has operations in Costa Mesa.
Private Access’ market is potentially big: Drug and device makers usually need around 7 million people a year for trials.
Right now, drug and device makers advertise and hire consultants to get people to take part in their trials. The process can take months.
Private Access hopes to have a standing pool of users on its Web site that trial operators could tap into more quickly.
The company, which still is building up its pool, plans to charge trial operators to access its members. One service will cost trial operators about $200.
“When they find someone who they believe meets the criteria for their trial, then we are compensated for making that match,” Kirshbaum said.
Trial recruiting searches now can cost up to $1,800 per person.
Private Access’ site could end up being one source trial operators turn to.
It might not be as good for recruiting older trial subjects or others who aren’t computer savvy.
The company won’t charge patients to use its products, Kirshbaum said. The company also plans to let patients search for treatments in ongoing or future clinical trials and order health documents.
Private Access expects to have its site fully operational in February.
The company is working with Genetic Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based organization for about 650 disease advocacy groups, to market the site.
Besides venture capital, Private Access also is looking at possibly receiving investment from nonprofit foundations, Kirshbaum said.
“Foundations have a keen interest to advance and accelerate medical research,” Kirshbaum said.
Private Access considers its competition to be traditional trial recruiting methods, particularly television, print and radio advertising.
The company’s executives said they want to see Private Access expand its services, including transferring medical records between doctors, patients and providers.
The company could end up being sold or going public, Kirshbaum said, though that would be a ways off.
Private Access has nine workers, including Shelton and Kirshbaum. It’s based in Aliso Viejo, Shelton said, because “the team is there.”
The company debuted last month at a health industry conference in San Francisco.
Shelton, a real estate developer whose projects include the Palm Springs Convention Center, got the idea for Private Access when he was trying to seek help for his oldest son, who is now 10 and was prenatally diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome, a rare genetic condition.
