Blockchain Uses in Action

Raleigh, NC life sciences blockchain company contributes to Mongolia’s goal to eliminate Hepatitis C.

As part of World Hepatitis Day activities in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, life sciences and healthcare blockchain company, Rymedi, presented its blockchain-based technology as the infrastructure for improving patient screening and treatment in a demonstration project.

Mongolia has a large burden of viral hepatitis, especially chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Not surprisingly, Mongolia also has the highest, and increasing, rate of liver cancer and mortality from liver cancer in the world, as chronic hep B and C infections lead to liver cancer. According to WHO, cancer is the second most common cause of death in Mongolia and liver cancer is responsible for 44% of all cancers.

In 2015, the Mongolian government directed resources to address this problem at all levels. Its comprehensive national program consists of prevention, screening, and treatment campaigns with underlying scientific and clinical research. Its goal is to stop all new cases of hepatitis B and C by 2020.

The demonstration project is a tight collaboration between Rymedi and the Onom Foundation, which runs the Liver Centers that are primary centers for screening and treatment, as well as principle architects of the government's Hepatitis Program. CTK Biotech, a diagnostics company in San Diego, participated by adjusting its product tracking and labeling to include specific diagnostic test information.

In addition to the compliant blockchain tools, Rymedi created the protocol and product traceability and workstation applications that capture the data and assure data regulatory compliance.

At the basis of blockchain is the access of only invited and relevant parties into the ledger. At the demonstration stage, the Onom Foundation is the principle participant in the blockchain. However, in the near future, multiple rapid diagnostic companies, independent diagnostic laboratories, viral load diagnostic companies, patient and doctors, medicine distributors, medicine manufacturers, pharmacies, and hospital and clinics, the Mongolian Health Insurance Fund, and regulators will be able to post and read data from the blockchain--according to what the blockchain allows on a "need to know" basis.

Specific to pharmaceutical uses in blockchain, the Ryemdi project addresses:

• Product traceability (to improve diagnostic and medicine quality assurance)

• Integrated data capture across the health system (provides Real-World Evidence for improved safety and efficacy assessment for companies and regulators)

• Cross-functional data pools (enable process improvements to overcome screening and treatment limitations, for example, finding patients for clinical trials as well as for treatments.)

• Data-driven coordination between parties (enables more efficient supply management.)

Further development of the protocol and applications is underway with plans to integrate across the entire screening to treatment chain: screening, rapid diagnostic, viral load test, prescription, treatment delivery, to patient liver health outcomes in patient records with ongoing follow-up at Onom Foundation Liver Centers. The Mongolian program provides government subsidized treatment with sofosbuvir-ledipasvir (Gilead's Harvoni) to all Hep C positive patients regardless of liver damage. Most of the supply is from generics licensed by Gilead for their list of "Access Countries," which includes Mongolia: Mylan and Strides are principle suppliers currently.

Read the full release, or access the Ryemdi website. www.rymedi.com