Worldwide Clinical Trials Enters into a Strategic Collaboration with Invitae to Accelerate Clinical Trials for Rare Disease Patients

CRO gains access to genetic testing data, aims to improve global research with enhanced data insights and faster patient recruitment for rare disease studies

Research Triangle Park, N.C. – July 12, 2022 –Worldwide Clinical Trials, Inc. (Worldwide), the industry’s leading global, midsize, full-service contract research organization (CRO), today announced its strategic partnership with Invitae, a leading medical genetics company. The partnership makes Worldwide the first CRO to use Invitae’s Explorer tool – part of its real-world data platform that enables access to aggregated genetic testing results.

Around the world, 300 million people have a rare disease, and 72 percent of those diseases have genetic origins (source). This partnership underscores Worldwide’s global leadership in rare disease research – one of its five major therapeutic areas of focus. A rare disease is generally considered to be a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States or 5 in 10,000 people in the European Union at any given time. Patient populations for these diseases are small and geographically widespread – a challenge for achieving access to conduct patient education and rare disease clinical research.

Through this partnership, Worldwide has access to data insights based on prevalence, incidence, demographics, geography, and epidemiology for rare disease patients. This aggregated data enables Worldwide to recruit patients faster and pinpoint optimal study locations to help its sponsors uncover new and potentially lifesaving treatments for people suffering from rare diseases.

“This is a game-changer for both our sponsors and patients enrolled in clinical trials,” said Peter Benton, President and CEO, Worldwide. “Our unique access to Invitae’s database provides us with superior visibility to an aggregate-level view of patients we otherwise wouldn’t be aware of and enables us to offer advanced clinical trial strategies to our sponsors. This also helps us boost much-needed patient recruitment efforts, expanding our reach and ability to connect the right patients with the right clinical trial opportunities.”

“Our strategic collaboration enables Worldwide to gain valuable insight into the genetic etiology of rare disease to help shape and improve the future of clinical trials,” said Sean George, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Invitae. “Our cutting-edge tools empower Worldwide with the opportunity to set clinical trial strategies based on specific disease and geographic prevalence to yield the data needed to treat genetic disorders globally.”

With access to Invitae’s aggregated genetic testing data, Worldwide has enhanced its capability to combat the complexities of rare disease trials through quicker visibility of where patients are – with the ultimate goal of providing much-needed and meaningful treatments.

Aligned with their commitment to excellence in rare disease clinical trial design, Worldwide team members are attending and contributing to the World Orphan Drug Congress at the Hynes Center in Boston. Speakers include Dr. Michael Murphy, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Worldwide, on the topic of “Endpoints – Where Are We Now and How Does the Development Process Need to Evolve?” on 12 July at 12:15 p.m. ET; and Derek Ansel, Senior Director, Therapeutic Strategy Lead, Rare Diseases, Worldwide, on the topic of “Trends & Challenges: Patient-Focused Rare Disease Research in 2022” on 12 July at 2:00 p.m. ET.

To learn more about Worldwide’s approach, visit www.worldwide.com/therapeutic-areas/rare-disease.

About Worldwide Clinical Trials

Worldwide Clinical Trials is a global, midsize contract research organization (CRO) that provides top-performing bioanalytical and Phase I-IV clinical development services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Founded in 1986 by physicians committed to advancing medical science, our full-service clinical experience ranges from early phase and bioanalytical sciences through late phase studies, post-approval, and real-world evidence. Major therapeutic areas of focus include cardiovascular, metabolic, neuroscience, oncology, and rare diseases. Operating in 60+ countries with offices in North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, and Asia, Worldwide is powered by its more than 3,000 employee experts.

For more information, please visit www.worldwide.com or connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

About Invitae

Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA) is a leading medical genetics company whose mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae’s goal is to aggregate the world’s genetic tests into a single service with higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.invitae.com.