Lyft drivers will transport clinical trial participants to and from GAP-Net research sites
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Mar. 20, 2018) – The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation has launched a partnership with Lyft to provide transportation for Alzheimer’s clinical trial participants to and from research sites. The partnership began on Feb. 20 with a pilot in California. Transportation will be available for participants and care partners who are part of Eli Lilly and Company’s (Lilly) study TRAILBLAZER-ALZ, an Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial testing a combination therapy designed to attack amyloid plaque, one of the key hallmarks of Alzheimer’s, in the brain.
GAP’s core mission is to reduce the time and cost of Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials and thereby deliver treatments to those in need more quickly. To that end, GAP established GAP-Net, a network of 63 top academic and private Alzheimer’s research sites in the country. A key benefit of this extensive network is the ability to identify major trends and opportunities to improve clinical trial processes and recruitment.
GAP identified lack of transportation as a significant challenge for clinical trial participants. Many do not have convenient and affordable means to get to and from a research site on a regular basis. GAP listened to these participants and researchers and created this partnership in less than 9 months. GAP’s partnership with Lyft is an unprecedented effort to provide free clinical-trial related transportation for participants and caregivers.
“This partnership with Lyft will help remove an important barrier for clinical trial participants – transportation,” said John Dwyer, President of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation. “Our many GAP-Net centers across the country significantly contribute to advancements in Alzheimer’s research. By using Lyft for our centers enrolling participants in TRAILBLAZER-ALZ, we hope more individuals will participate in this drug trial. Our partnership with Lyft makes the trial experience as easy as possible forstudy participants and their study partners.”
15 GAP-Net sites are currently part of the partnership. They are:
- Axiom Clinical Research – Tampa, FL
- Banner Alzheimer’s Institute – Phoenix, AZ
- Banner Sun Health Research Institute – Sun City, AZ
- Bioclinica – Melbourne, FL
- Bioclinica – Orlando, FL
- Bioclinica – The Villages, FL
- Brain Matters Research – Delray Beach, FL
- Indiana University School of Medicine – Indianapolis, IN
- Irvine Center for Clinical Research, Inc. – Irvine, CA
- Progressive Medical Research – Port Orange, FL
- Raleigh Neurology Associates – Raleigh, NC
- Re:Cognition Health – Fairfax, VA
- Stedman Clinical Trials – Tampa, FL
- Syrentis Clinical Research – Santa Ana, CA
- Toronto Memory Program – Toronto, Canada
In addition to the GAP-Lyft partnership in support of a specific Alzheimer’s disease trial, GAP is funding initial Lyft accounts to ensure all 63 GAP-Net sites can offer free transportation for their clinical trial participants.
“We’re excited to partner with the Global Alzheimer’s Platform to make clinical trials more accessible. Removing transportation barriers for this population, which has traditionally faced significant transit challenges, will help immensely” said Gyre Renwick, VP of Lyft Business. “Together, we’re working to address a disease that has impacted a significant portion of the US. Our partnership with the GAP Foundation is integral to our efforts of reducing the transportation healthcare gap by 50 percent by 2020, as we work to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation.”
For more information about the GAP Foundation, please visit www.globalalzplatform.org.
For more information about the TRAILBLAZER-ALZ trial, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.
It is planned that the partnership will encompass the remaining 48 GAP-Net sites listed below:
| Abington Neurologic Associates | ActivMed Practices & Research | Advocate Healthcare |
| Amita Health Neuroscience Network | Boston University | Barrow Neurological Institute |
| Baylor College of Medicine | Butler Hospital (Brown University) | Clinical Research Associates |
| Brigham & Women’s Hospital | Emory University | Georgetown University |
| Collaborative Neuroscience Network | Guilford Neurologic Research | Howard University |
| Great Lakes Clinical Trials | IPS Research Company | Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Cleveland |
| Intercoastal Medicine | Mayo Clinic (Rochester) | Neurology Associates of Albany |
| Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health (Las Vegas) | New England Institute for Clinical Research | Northwestern University |
| NeuroStudies.net | Premiere Research Institute | Princeton Medical Institute |
| Okanagan Clinical Trials | Quest Research Institute | Roper St. Francis Healthcare |
| Quantum Laboratories | Richmond Behavioral Associates | University Hospitals (Case Western Reserve) |
| Rhode Island Hospital | Texas Neurology | University of California, San Francisco |
| Stanford | University of California, San Diego | University of Pittsburgh |
| University of California, Irvine | University of Kentucky | University of Southern California |
| University of Kansas | University of South Florida | University of Rochester |
| Washington University | Vanderbilt University | Yale University |
Read the full release here.