PatientsLikeMe and Science 37 Forge Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Clinical Trial Enrollment and Expand Patient Access
Key Insights
PatientsLikeMe (search) and Science 37 (search) announced a strategic partnership on July 21, 2026, to connect eligible patients with clinical trials faster and reduce enrollment barriers.
The collaboration combines PLM's patient engagement platform with Science 37 (search)'s Direct-to-Patient trial infrastructure spanning all 50 states, supporting traditional, hybrid, and decentralized trial models.
The partnership targets rare disease populations, geographically dispersed patients, and studies with complex protocols where patient identification and retention are critical to success.
BOSTON and MORRISVILLE, N.C., July 21, 2026 — PatientsLikeMe (search) (PLM) Powered by Fuze Health (search) and Science 37 (search) have entered a strategic partnership designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors accelerate clinical development by connecting the right patients with the right trials, faster, while making participation more accessible.
The partnership addresses a persistent challenge in clinical research: despite growing investment, many trials continue to miss enrollment timelines because eligible patients are unaware of available studies, uncertain about participation, or face logistical barriers that make enrollment difficult. By combining PLM's national patient community with Science 37 (search)'s Direct-to-Patient trial infrastructure, the companies aim to provide sponsors with a scalable recruitment and engagement solution.
"The industry doesn't have an awareness problem. It has a connection problem," said Tyler Van Horn, Chief Executive Officer of Science 37 (search). "Millions of patients are interested in advancing research, yet too many never learn about relevant clinical trial opportunities or encounter barriers that prevent participation."
A Connected Activation Pathway
The partnership creates an end-to-end solution that identifies, educates, and activates highly relevant patients earlier in the disease journey. PLM brings condition-specific education, peer engagement, and trusted patient support, reaching individuals who may have never before considered a clinical trial as an option. Science 37 (search) then provides flexible participation pathways through remote and in-home clinical research capabilities across all 50 states.
Christopher Renfro-Wallace, COO of PatientsLikeMe (search), noted: "Clinical trial sponsors face real pressures around enrollment timelines, patient retention, protocol complexity, and site performance. This partnership addresses those challenges with a more connected activation pathway that makes it easier to find the right patients, enroll them faster and keep them engaged throughout the trial."
The combined offering aims to improve conversion from awareness to enrollment through continuous patient engagement and support, enable flexible participation through traditional, hybrid, and decentralized trial models, and expand access while reducing burden for patients.
Targeting High-Need Populations
The companies expect the partnership to deliver particular value in studies where patient identification, engagement, and retention are critical to success. Key focus areas include rare disease and specialty populations, therapeutic areas with multiple competing trials recruiting simultaneously, geographically dispersed patient populations, and studies with complex protocols or high participant burden.
Beyond recruitment and enrollment, the partners will explore collaborations around integrating patient insights into protocol and study design decisions, reducing patient burden, longitudinal retention and adherence programs, and real-world insights and patient experience analytics.
Science 37 (search)'s Proven Track Record
Science 37 (search) operates as a modern clinical research site under a single Form FDA 1572 and a central IRB, supported by centralized medical oversight, research-grade nursing, and specialized direct-to-patient clinical operations. The company has successfully completed multiple FDA inspections, achieving No Action Indicated (NAI) classifications with zero Form 483 observations.
With more than a decade of experience, Science 37 (search) has supported over 200 clinical trials across Phases I–IV and observational studies. Its model consistently delivers strong performance, including approximately 86% completion rates and contributing an average of 20–30% of total study enrollment as a single site — outcomes that have been validated by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (Tufts CSDD).