Weill Cornell Medicine has officially joined the TriNetX global health research network. 

TriNetX is a network made up of biopharma companies and contract research organizations representing nearly 100 million patients globally. Network members utilize the cloud-based, health research platform to analyze patient populations. As members, healthcare organizations receive hardware and software that are configured within the organization’s IT infrastructure and often builds on existing data resources such as i2b2 and Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP).

“We are excited about the addition of Weill Cornell Medicine to our network,” said Gadi Lachman, chief executive officer at TriNetX. “They are committed to cutting-edge research that connects patients to the latest treatment and prevention strategies. We are confident we can support them in that mission.”
 

Weill Cornell Medicine is one of the nation’s most comprehensive, integrated academic healthcare delivery systems, and they are betting that joining the network will bring many new clinical opportunities that will benefit their patients. A huge advantage of Weill Cornell joining the network is that they are making their total patient population of over two million available for query through TriNetX.

Contract Pharma spoke with several professors at Weill Cornell for comments on the significance of joining the network for them, and what types of opportunities it is expected to bring.
 

Contract Pharma: How will your joining of the TriNetX Health Network contribute to the cost-cutting of R&D for both you, and other members of the network?

Curtis Cole, M.D., Weill Cornell: More than cutting costs, TriNetX gives Weill Cornell an opportunity to maximize its investment in research data platforms. We have spent more than a decade building an infrastructure to standardize data on the way in and out of the electronic health record (EHR) to maximize the secondary use potential for research. TriNetX is a good example of the benefit that foundational work provides. Sponsors of trials can more easily match up with Weill Cornell faculty for mutually productive investigations. 

Contract Pharma: Specifically, what kind of clinical opportunities do you hope the network will provide to both you and your patients?

John Leonard, M.D., Weill Cornell: Clinical trials are a critical component of Weill Cornell’s mission. They provide alternate care opportunities for patients, help us optimize care for future patients and educate the next generation of medical leaders. TriNetX is a nice addition, adding more options for more trials, to help more patients. 

Contract Pharma: What do you hope others will get out of your i2b2 infrastructure who have never had access to it before?

Thomas Campion, Ph.D., Weill Cornell: Data at rest does not help anyone. Data needs to be used to deliver value. A major goal of our Research Informatics program is to optimize the availability of our data for research, care, and education. One of the core qualities of academia is how we enhance discovery. Most of the uses for the data probably have not been invented yet. We certainly did not think of TriNetX specifically when we set up our i2b2 instance. And yet it is a perfect example of how staging the infrastructure creates new ideas, new demands, and new uses. 

Contract Pharma: What aspect of the network do you feel will benefit Weill Cornell Medicine as a whole the most?

John Leonard, M.D., Weill Cornell: More research. Better care. Who could choose? It’s all good.
 

Left to right: Curtis Cole, M.D., Thomas Campion, Ph.D., John Leonard, M.D. 

Curtis Cole, M.D. is an associate professor of Clinical Medicine and the chief information officer at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Thomas Campion, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of Healthcare Policy and Research and the director of Research Informatics at Weill Cornell Medicine.

 

John Leonard, M.D. is a professor of Medicine and the associate dean for Clinical Research at Weill Cornell Medicine.