News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TIGERLILY FOUNDATION AND THE WITT GROUP
COLLABORATE TO INCREASE CLINICAL TRIAL ADHERENCE
AND REDUCE BARRIERS FOR PATIENTS
ALDIE, Va. and SANTA CLARA, Calif. – March 9, 2023 – The Tigerlily Foundation (Tigerlily), a leading breast cancer patient advocacy organization and The WiTT Group™, Inc., a digital health and fintech company focused on solving the non-clinical challenges cancer patients face as they go through treatment, announced today a new collaboration in which Tigerlily will white label the WiTT’s Support Registry™ to increase clinical trial adherence for women of color by co-creating solutions to address access to care and eliminate barriers and health equity challenges that patients face.
WiTT’s Support Registry is a platform addresses the challenge that every patient dealing with chronic disease faces – asking for help without feeling as though they are being a burden or an imposition on others. The platform de-stigmatizes asking for help by combining the personalized needs of a patient with the simplicity of a wedding registry and leveraging a financial tool to facilitate payments, thereby making it easy for a patient to ask, but more importantly, making their needs visible to those that want to help. In addition, the platform provides solutions to support patients and families in overcoming clinical trial barriers, in addition to solutions that could improve patient quality of life.
"This collaboration focuses on dismantling barriers that have made adherence to clinical trials challenging and through the data we generate, enable us to improve health equity and eliminate disparities in clinical trials that exists amongst women of color,” said Tigerlily Foundation CEO and Founder, Maimah Karmo. "Social determinants of health often impact women in historically underserved areas, and when offered a clinical trial, the pressures of everyday life are already overwhelming. This solution will help to lighten the load by providing both funding, tangible solutions, patient empowerment, family support and a navigator when needed. Furthermore, we will be giving patients a better experience within clinical trials, and one that is designed for patients, by patients who look like them. We have to move beyond admiring the problem and how well versed we are about barriers and take specific, measurable, time-bound action to ensure patients have medicines in time that could prolong or save their lives.”
"We are excited to partner with Maimah and her team at the Tigerlily Foundation to provide a solution that will help their patients get the non-clinical support they need as they go through treatment and participate in clinical trials,” said Rahul Mahadevan, Founder & CEO of the WiTT Group, Inc. "Too many patients struggle with adhering to treatment plans or clinical trials due to the lack of support on basic activities of daily living. Through this strategic partnership, we plan on helping patients get the support they need so that they can be active participants in clinical trials. We will also generate data that will identify risk factors that might impact adherence, and enable the Tigerlily Foundation and their clinical sponsors to put remediation plans in place to mitigate these risks.”
"The clinical trial sponsors have increased study site budgets to include transportation, food, and lodging when appropriate. However, everyday concerns and barriers to clinical participation like rent, food, utilities, daycare, and pet care are not covered. This solution will help level the playing field and provide women of color greater opportunities to participate in trials, while taking away some of the day-to-day worries,” added Lori Abrams, Clinical Trials Advisor for Tigerlily.
The WiTT Group partners with a variety of organizations including non-profits, cancer support groups, hospitals, providers, employers and church groups to use its WiTT Support Registry™ platform. These organizations help identify patients in need who can use the platform to create a personal support registry of financial and non-financial needs, and make their registry visible to their friends and family. This not only makes it easy for a patient to ask for support, but it also makes it easy for those that want to support a patient to know exactly what they can do to help. The platform is free to patients.
About Tigerlily Foundation
Tigerlily Foundation is a national breast cancer foundation providing education, awareness, advocacy, and hands-on support to young women (ages 15-45) – before, during, and after breast cancer. Tigerlily programs seek to educate and empower women of all backgrounds, including those at heightened risk, those facing health disparities, and those with less access to care. Tigerlily improves the quality of life and ends isolation among breast cancer survivors. More information on the Tigerlily Foundation can be found at www.tigerlilyfoundation.org.
About The WiTT Group, Inc.
The WiTT Group, Inc. is focused on solving the non-clinical challenges (financial and non-financial) patients face as they go through treatment. The company offers a unique Support Registry™ platform which empowers patients to get the support they need, as well as make it easy to ask for and receive help. WiTT, which stands for "We’re in This Together,” combines the simplicity of a wedding registry with the personalized needs of a patient and a financial tool, into an easy-to-use platform. WiTT’s initial focus is on cancer care, but the platform can be used for all chronic diseases. More information on the WiTT Group can be found at www.wittforever.com. You can also follow The WiTT Group on Facebook and Instagram at @wittforever, @WiTTSupportTeam on Twitter, and The WiTT Group on LinkedIn.
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Media Contact:
David Gutierrez for the WiTT Group, (847) 533-5082, davidg1027@gmail.com