Digital Phenotypes and Biomarkers for Oncology Patients: Koneksa at IO360

As part of Koneksa’s participation in the recent Immuno-Oncology Conference (IO360), CEO Chris Benko summarized Koneksa’s work in oncology.

In the often technical world of oncology research, the human patients can sometimes seem to be lost in the focus on cell biology. In contrast, Koneksa’s work sets it apart: we are the leaders in developing and implementing patient-focused digital biomarkers for drug development.

Koneksa is:

• Developing cancer-patient digital phenotypes to systematically address the use of real-world data to predict patients’ safety and quality of response to targeted therapies.

• Using digital biomarkers to guide the detection of outcomes of interest to improve safety, tolerability, and adherence.

Oncology drug development is increasingly competitive, with shorter product life cycles. Accelerated oncology drug approvals, made on the basis of sometimes limited evidence, mandate the gathering of post-marketing data.

Furthermore, as targeted therapies become ever more important, understanding patients’ experience and functional status is critical to selecting treatments. Historically used measurements have well-known limitations and biases – but fortunately, continuous remote data streams, taken from wearable sensors and mobile devices, and integrated into digital phenotypes, can provide this information and guide decisions.

To date, Koneksa-supported oncology studies have measured certain protocols of chemotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, radiotherapy, radio-immunotherapy, and radiation therapy for their effectiveness, as well as for their potential side effects on the activity and mobility of patients. They have enrolled patients with brain cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, digestive system carcinoma, gastrointestinal cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, multiple myeloma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and prostate cancer.