Tempus AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: TEM) has announced a significant expansion of its TIME Network to enhance support for phase I clinical trials, forming a specialized TIME Precision Network that focuses on accelerating site activation and patient enrollment across more than 40 phase I-capable research centers throughout the United States.
The newly established network brings together investigators dedicated to supporting early-phase clinical trials, which are critical for advancing drug development but often face challenges in patient recruitment and site activation. Since its inception in 2019, the TIME Network has worked to streamline these processes, and the expansion represents a strategic enhancement of these capabilities.
"The integration of phase I clinical trial sites adds a critical capability to the TIME Network. We are now able to activate and efficiently execute these early studies that are fundamental to drug development and such a valuable offering to patients," said Ezra Cohen, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Oncology at Tempus. "The reality is that these studies require specific and coordinated infrastructure to be successful, and I am proud that Tempus can now work with these sites and our life science partners to enroll patients into these cutting-edge clinical trials."
Demonstrated Efficiency in Trial Activation and Enrollment
The TIME Network has already shown impressive results in accelerating the clinical trial process. At the Taylor Cancer Research Center (TCRC), Tempus activated a site for the Nimbus 9216-101 study in approximately two weeks and enrolled the first patient within one month of activation. Similarly, for the Pathos P300-02-001 study, Tempus screened and enrolled the trial's first and second patients at Nebraska Cancer Specialists and Oncology Consultants within weeks of initiation.
This efficiency is powered by Tempus's data-integrated approach, which enables rapid patient identification and matching to appropriate trials. The system can activate sites within days or weeks rather than the months typically required in traditional clinical trial setups.
John Nemunaitis, Chief Scientific Officer at Taylor Cancer Research Center, highlighted the impact of this collaboration: "It's a privilege for us at the TCRC to be able to work with Tempus in engaging new precision trial opportunities for our cancer patients. Through the relationship of our community oncology, not-for-profit program and Tempus, a seamless process has been established to implement study activation and rapidly engage patient start up."
Nemunaitis noted a significant achievement resulting from this partnership: "We were the first to safely administer a novel WRN inhibitor by Nimbus within a global trial to a cancer patient. Additional patients have been evaluated and are now proceeding with the enrollment process."
Expanding Access to Clinical Trials
A key aspect of Tempus's strategy involves building a diverse network of provider sites, including community hospitals that serve traditionally underrepresented patient populations. This approach aims to democratize access to clinical trials, making cutting-edge investigational therapies available to patients across various communities who might otherwise lack such opportunities.
The TIME Network specifically addresses common barriers to clinical trial participation, such as geographic limitations, lack of awareness, and complex enrollment processes. By streamlining these aspects, Tempus is working to ensure that innovative treatments reach a broader and more diverse patient population.
AI-Powered Precision Medicine
Tempus's approach leverages one of the world's largest libraries of multimodal healthcare data and an operating system designed to make that data accessible and useful. The company provides AI-enabled precision medicine solutions that help physicians deliver personalized patient care while simultaneously facilitating the discovery, development, and delivery of optimal therapeutics.
The underlying philosophy of Tempus's approach is that each patient should benefit from the treatment experiences of those who came before them. This is achieved by providing physicians with tools that continuously learn and improve as more data is gathered and analyzed.
Future Implications for Drug Development
The expansion of the TIME Network to support phase I trials more effectively has significant implications for the broader pharmaceutical research and development landscape. Early-phase trials are crucial for determining safety profiles and initial efficacy signals for new compounds, and accelerating this stage can potentially reduce the overall time and cost of bringing new therapies to market.
By demonstrating the ability to rapidly activate sites and enroll patients in these critical early studies, Tempus is addressing one of the most persistent bottlenecks in the drug development process. This could ultimately lead to faster development timelines for new medications and increased access to novel therapies for patients with unmet medical needs.
The TIME Precision Network represents an important advancement in how clinical trials are conducted, particularly in the community setting, and signals a shift toward more efficient, data-driven approaches to drug development and patient care.
