Picnic Health Partners With Orsini to Improve Rare Disease Data

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As the pharma industry continues to embrace new technologies, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the collecting, handling, sorting, and analysis of data is going to be one of the most important issues in the coming years. Pharma companies generate massive amounts of data, which often comes in different forms that are not always compatible. As such, many companies are looking for new solutions to handling data issues.

Rare disease and gene therapy company Orsini announced a partnership with tech company Picnic Health.¹ The two organizations will work together to create drug specific registries that combine multiple data sources. These will include real-world data, patient experience reports, and EMR.

In a press release, Orsini’s chief executive officer Brandon Tom said, “We are thrilled to partner with PicnicHealth to gain a deeper understanding of patient adherence through real-world data and to work with AstraZeneca to bring these powerful insights to hATTR-PN patients. Adherence is a critical factor to help ensure successful patient outcomes, particularly in rare disease communities. This partnership is another step forward in our mission to leave no patient behind."

In the same press release, PicnicHealth’s chief commercial officer Rachael Higgins added, “Finding innovative ways to advance research is a key priority for PicnicHealth. Life science companies have long faced challenges in generating meaningful evidence during the early launch phase, and we're excited to announce this partnership to help bridge that gap."

In the announcement, Orsini cites PicnicHealth’s life sciences research product as a key product that will help the companies reach their goals. The research product uses AI-based technology to obtain records from consenting patients, which can then be used to obtain data for relevant studies. Orsini also cited its own ORBIT (Orsini Rare Bsiness Intelligence Technology) reporting and analytics platform, which similarly uses AI to analyze and sort rare disease patient data.

Orsini announced ORBIT’s launch in October 2024.² In a press release issued at the time, Orsini’s chief information officer Ashok Singh said, “As the name suggests, ORBIT revolves around the patient, collecting and analyzing data to deliver a personalized experience. This flexible, first-of-its-kind platform harnesses the power of AI to deliver better outcomes in rare disease care."

PicnicHealth launched its AI assistant in November 2024.³ At the time, Troy Astorino, the company’s co-founder and CTO, said, “We're simplifying healthcare with a true universal patient record. With Picnic, we're putting our world-leading medical AI directly in the hands of patients to track down and make sense of their medical data. This gives them a new level of understanding of their health history and enables them to navigate their care with confidence."

Prior to launching the AI-powered assistant, PicnicHealth had already launched PicnicAI in June 2024.⁴ While the assistant is focused on providing patients with a clear timeline and access to their health records, the AI platform provides more advanced data services that can be accessed by researchers.

In a press release issued at the time, Astorino said, “Personalized medicine requires technology like PicnicAI. It has taken us a decade to build, but the results feel magical. We can now instantly construct and understand any patient's complete care journey, pulling records together from every hospital and doctor's office where that patient has been seen. This allows us to provide clinical insights to patients and our research partners with speed, efficiency, and scale not possible anywhere else. It's how patient records should work."

Sources

1. Orsini and PicnicHealth Partner to Improve Rare Disease Patient Care and Real-World Study Execution. Orsini. January 7, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/orsini-and-picnichealth-partner-to-improve-rare-disease-patient-care-and-real-world-study-execution-302344407.html
2. Orsini Launches ORBIT™ (Orsini Rare Business Intelligence Technology) to Enhance Rare Disease Patient Care. Orsini. October 3, 2024. Accessed January 8, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/orsini-launches-orbit-orsini-rare-business-intelligence-technology-to-enhance-rare-disease-patient-care-302267078.html
3. PicnicHealth Introduces AI Health Assistant to Simplify Patient Care. PicnicHealth. November 19, 2024. Accessed January 8, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/picnichealth-introduces-ai-health-assistant-to-simplify-patient-care-302309693.html
4. PicnicHealth Announces PicnicAI, a Platform that Unlocks the Universal Patient Record with Generative AI. PicnicHealth. June 26, 2024. Accessed January 8, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/picnichealth-announces-picnicai-a-platform-that-unlocks-the-universal-patient-record-with-generative-ai-302182861.html