Thermo Fisher Scientific recently announced a collaboration between its clinical research division, PPD, and data collection platform Datavant.

The “strategic data collaboration” aims to make it easier for pharmaceutical and biotech companies to connect real-world data with clinical research, according to a news release issued this week by Thermo Fisher.

PPD, which was founded by Fred Eshelman in 1985, was one of Wilmington’s first contract research organizations, providing a range of clinical research and laboratory services. Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher Scientific acquired PPD in 2021, and officials have said the company currently employs approximately 1,400 people in the Cape Fear region.

The recent collaboration will enable “secure connection and analysis of real-world data,” the release stated. According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, real-world data is data that relates to patient health status and/or the delivery of health care that is routinely collected from various sources. Examples include data derived from electronic health records, medical claims data and data from product or disease registries, among other sources.

Datavant enables privacy-preserving tokenization and the linkage of patient-level data across more than 350 real-world data partners and 80,000 U.S. hospitals and clinics.

“Data interoperability is critical to the next generation of evidence generation,” Karen Kaucic, Thermo Fisher’s president of patient and advisory services and chief medical officer of clinical research, wrote in the release. “By enabling privacy-protected data connectivity at scale, this collaboration allows us to deliver a more seamless and efficient research experience for our customers.”

According to the release, “integrating Datavant’s encrypted token technology within Thermo Fisher’s (real-world data) infrastructure will provide biopharmaceutical and biotech customers with access to enhanced linked patient data and advanced analytics to design more connected studies, improve recruitment and accelerate evidence generation, ultimately supporting better patient outcomes.”

The collaboration builds on Thermo Fisher’s investments in digital innovation, according to the release, which includes a partnership with artificial intelligence research organization OpenAI that was announced in October.

“This collaboration with Thermo Fisher underscores Datavant’s role in enabling secure, privacy-preserving data connectivity at scale,” wrote Arnaub Chatterjee, Datavant’s GM and President of Life Sciences, in the release. 

“By combining Datavant’s trusted data linkage technology with Thermo Fisher’s deep clinical research expertise and infrastructure, we’re helping bring richer, more connected patient data into the research process,” he added. “Reducing friction across the research lifecycle – from clinical trials through real-world evidence – is key so that our shared life sciences partners can generate insights faster and advance better outcomes for patients.”