Pharmaceutical giants like GlaxoSmithKline and Purdue Pharma want to use Apple’s open source ResearchKit platform for gathering medical research data via the iPhone, according to BuzzFeed News (http://tinyurl.com/qj2pttv).
GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world’s largest drug developers, told the publication that it’s “currently working on integrating (ResearchKit) into clinical trials and planning to start in coming months.” Purdue Pharma — a privately held, multibillion-dollar drug developer best known for OxyContin painkillers — told BuzzFeed News that it’s in the early stages of exploring whether Apple’s new tool for research data collection can be used as part of its own drug R&D efforts.
ResearchKit is a software framework designed for medical and health research that helps doctors, scientists and other researchers gather data more frequently and more accurately from participants using mobile devices. The open source framework allows any medical researcher to take advantage of the initial modules in ResearchKit to study health and wellness and better understand disease.
Developers can also build new modules based on the open source code and contribute them to ResearchKit. The initial customizable modules address the most common elements found in research studies — participant consent, surveys and active tasks.