Yunu Opens the Yunuverse, Increasing Trial Access for Patients and Solving Staffing Challenges for Cancer Centers, Pharma, and CRO Customers

CARY, N.C., March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Yunu, a clinical trials imaging assessment workflow and data management platform, has opened access to their new Yunuverse for collaboration among pharma sponsors, trial sites, clinical research organizations (CROs), and on-demand clinician groups to transform the way imaging-based trials are conducted. Yunu is a fast-growing VC-backed SaaS eClinical solution company that announced its Series A investment from First Analysis and exited from stealth in September of 2022. The company's technology has already been used in trials sponsored by over 400 pharma companies.

Yunu's success stems from a platform built with deep domain expertise in medical imaging and oncology research to deliver transparency and efficiency in every detail of the trial imaging workflow, from scheduling and billing to response criteria customization, performing imaging assessments, and audit readiness. Yunu's cloud-based system creates a much-needed collaboration environment across all trial stakeholders. Customers who already manage hundreds of trials within each site, including many of the nation's busiest NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, can now effortlessly share imaging trial access, setup, staffing, and best practices with other sites and stakeholders within the application.

These new Yunu platform capabilities, called the Yunuverse, create an expansive network whereby Yunu stakeholders can invite new participants into their trials, including on-demand board-certified radiologists and other trial staffing resources, with no disruption or contracts, pre-set turn-around-times, and competitive 3rd party rates. Clinical research coordinators and administrative staff can choose local or offsite resources and make these selections on a trial-by-trial or individual study basis, with the freedom to adjust these preferences at any time. 

As patient recruitment challenges and staffing shortages continue to plague clinical trials, the Yunuverse brings new avenues to extend trial access to new populations and augment trial teams, creating more diverse trials and accelerating the delivery of breakthrough therapies. Due to the difficulties imaging assessments present, trials have historically been limited to patient populations near the larger cancer centers that conduct them. As an alarming result, only 3% of US patients are enrolled in clinical trials where over 80% of Americans receive care. The Yunuverse is the first cloud collaboration tool to remove imaging barriers by decentralizing imaging assessments - patients and scanners can be in one location, with trial staff and physicians located anywhere. 

"The Yunuverse addresses the vexing issues of patient access and staffing shortages in our nation's cancer centers and clinical trials programs. Current ways of working are insular, with each cancer center essentially on an island, being asked to run an increasing number of trials with a decreasing number of staff. Meanwhile, patients suffer from a lack of access because these trials are too difficult to run in community cancer centers and imaging centers," said Jeff Sorenson, Yunu Co-founder & CEO. He continued, "By facilitating collaboration across large and small sites, and by connecting CROs and pharma sponsors to sites in new ways, the Yunuverse is allowing institutions to rethink how they scale imaging operations in their clinical trials for the good of both patients and the research community." 

The Yunuverse is being released in concert with two back-to-back industry events including the Outsourcing for Clinical Trials - Southeast conference in Raleigh, NC, on March 28th-29th and the Society for Clinical Research Sites - Global Oncology Site Solutions Summit in Austin, TX, on March 31st-April 1st.

Source: Yunu