Cerner launches new unit focused on life sciences, therapeutics
Cerner this week announced the creation of Cerner Enviza, a new operating unit focused on developing new approaches to data management for life sciences research and development of new treatments and therapies.
WHY IT MATTERS
The new unit is aimed at helping researchers drive insights from multiple data sources and real-world evidence, Cerner says, in hopes of enabling faster and more efficient development of therapies and therapeutics.
The company notes that new treatments can often take more than 15 years and cost $2.5 billion from discovery to deployment. Officials say Cerner Enviza is meant to help life sciences researchers “unlock the power of data and a network of research-ready health systems to help get therapies to patients more quickly and at less expense.”
One focus of the new unit will be to expand participation in clinical trials to help achieve more equitable results, according to Cerner – which points out that as few as 3% of physicians and patients participate in trials, with even fewer patients actually receiving the new treatments that are developed through those insights.
By leveraging electronic health records, patient registries and cohort studies, oncology data and more, Cerner Enviza was launched to help healthcare and life sciences organizations with product commercialization, real-world evidence and analytics, regulatory and safety issues, and therapy specializations.
THE LARGER TREND
This past April, Cerner completed its acquisition of Kantar Health – with its deep analytics expertise in areas such as Alzheimer’s, cancer research, rare diseases and more – for $375 million in cash.
Together, the two companies sought to “enable the acceleration of innovation and elevate our expertise in addressing the most complex clinical research questions changing the way healthcare is developed and delivered,” said Kantar CEO Lynette Cooke at the time. (Cooke will now serve as executive advisor to Cerner Enviza.)
Enviza is the first new business unit launched under Cerner’s new CEO, Dr. David Feinberg, who took the reins just this month.
In a speech two weeks ago, he highlighted some of Cerner’s new technologies, and pointed out some areas where he promised improvements would be made.
“Data to do more great things even faster, that’s the brass ring,” said Feinberg. “The pipes are laid, which is wonderful, but we have to make it easier to get the right information to the right people at the right time to eliminate that noise.”
ON THE RECORD
“With Cerner Enviza, we bring together the expertise, assets and capabilities of Kantar Health with Cerner’s technology and access to a large collection of deidentified patient health data,” said Mike Kelly, global head of Cerner Enviza, in a statement. “Our approach unites the life sciences and healthcare providers to support research and trial opportunities across this ecosystem. The goal is to significantly reduce the timeframe and cost from idea to therapy delivery to help achieve better patient outcomes.”
“We have to break down industry silos and evolve from simply accumulating data to generating meaningful insights that can accelerate therapy development,” added Feinberg. “We can arm researchers with diverse tools and datasets to help them address these challenges and help change the way we develop and deliver care for our patients.”
Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.
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