Akkure Genomics

Akkure Genomics is a digital health company that has developed a platform to streamline clinical trial recruitment using artificial intelligence and genomic data. Founded in 2019 by Professor Oran Rigby and Dr. Amy Hollingworth, the Dublin-based firm aims to address major inefficiencies in the clinical trial industry, where a high percentage of trials fail to enroll and retain enough patients. The company is headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin.

The founders bring extensive medical and technical expertise to the company. Professor Oran Rigby is a consultant in intensive care medicine and surgery with a background in robotics and autonomous systems. Dr. Amy Hollingworth is a respiratory and lung transplant consultant specialist. Their collective experience in medicine and data science spurred the creation of a patient-centric platform that empowers individuals to leverage their personal health data. The company's medical research board is chaired by Professor John Crown, a prominent medical oncologist and cancer trials expert in Ireland.

Akkure's core product is a precision medicine platform that matches patients, including those with cancer, to suitable clinical trials worldwide. It utilizes AI, natural language processing, and genomic data analysis to precisely identify eligible participants based on their genetic profile and medical history. This approach is designed to accelerate the recruitment process, reduce costs for pharmaceutical companies, and increase the likelihood of trial success. The platform also supports virtual and remote trial participation through integrated telemedicine tools. The business model involves pharmaceutical companies paying to access pools of matched patients for their trials. Akkure also provides its trial-matching tool as a service for hospitals, primary care centers, charities, and pharmacies to integrate into their own websites.

Since its founding, Akkure has achieved significant milestones, including securing funding from sources like the Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF), Enterprise Ireland, and successful equity crowdfunding campaigns. Notably, a 2021 crowdfunding campaign on the Spark Crowdfunding platform raised €1.2 million from over 300 investors in just over a week. The company also developed the CovidMedBot, a free online COVID-19 self-assessment tool, early in the pandemic.

Keywords: clinical trial recruitment, precision medicine, genomics, artificial intelligence, medtech, patient matching, oncology, digital health, data analytics, virtual trials, telemedicine, cancer research, genetic data, patient-centric, blockchain, drug discovery, health-tech, clinical data management, trial matchmaking, biostatistics