Tech Alliance Aims to Unclog Rare Disease Clinical Trial Pipeline

AMSTERDAM and ATLANTA – April 16, 2026 – A new partnership between health technology firm myTomorrows and the specialized U.S. network Rare Disease Research (RDR) is set to tackle one of the most persistent bottlenecks in modern medicine: connecting patients with rare diseases to potentially life-saving clinical trials. The collaboration, announced today, will leverage an AI-powered platform to streamline the complex and often heartbreaking process of finding and enrolling in studies for conditions that affect small, geographically scattered populations.

For the millions living with one of over 7,000 identified rare diseases, the journey to a diagnosis is often a multi-year odyssey. Yet, finding a potential treatment is an even greater challenge. With an estimated 95% of these conditions lacking a single FDA-approved therapy, clinical trials represent the primary, and sometimes only, beacon of hope. This new alliance aims to replace the fragmented, manual, and often frustrating search process with a structured, technology-driven pathway.

The Overwhelming Hurdles of Rare Disease Research

Finding a clinical trial for a rare disease has long been described as searching for a needle in a global haystack. The patient populations are inherently small and dispersed, making recruitment a monumental task for researchers. This is compounded by diagnostic delays that can span years, during which a patient's eligibility for a trial might change or expire.

Patients and their families face major obstacles. The information is often dense and technical, trial sites can be hundreds of miles away, and even well-meaning community doctors may not know where to begin looking. This lack of a clear, consistent referral pathway creates a significant gap. General practitioners and even some specialists, facing time constraints and a deluge of information, often struggle to identify relevant studies for their patients. The eligibility criteria for rare disease trials are notoriously complex and can change rapidly, making it difficult for non-specialists to assess a potential match. This leads to a high volume of mismatched or incomplete referrals to research sites, creating a significant administrative burden.

For the specialized research sites themselves, this inefficiency is a critical drag on progress. Staff can spend an inordinate amount of time sifting through inbound requests, many of which are from patients who don't meet the strict protocol requirements. This diverts precious resources away from supporting potentially eligible candidates and conducting the research itself. Furthermore, the logistical and financial burdens on families—who may face extensive travel and time away from work—can be a major deterrent, with studies showing that travel alone prevents nearly two-thirds of potential participants from enrolling.

A Digital Bridge to New Hope

The partnership between myTomorrows and Rare Disease Research directly confronts these challenges by implementing a sophisticated technology platform designed to act as a digital bridge. RDR, with its network of research sites in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and New Jersey dedicated exclusively to rare diseases, will use the myTomorrows platform to create a more efficient and intelligent "front door" for trial access.

At the core of the system is an AI-driven pre-screening tool. This technology analyzes a patient's medical information against the complex inclusion and exclusion criteria of multiple clinical trials simultaneously. According to myTomorrows, internal testing has shown the AI can perform these eligibility checks with 98% accuracy, saving up to 90% of the time it would take a medically trained professional to do so manually.

For a referring physician, this transforms the process. Instead of navigating disparate registries and deciphering dense protocols, they can use the platform to identify potentially relevant RDR trials and submit a structured referral. This ensures that the information sent to the research site is complete, consistent, and already pre-vetted against the study's core requirements.

The collaboration also provides a crucial layer of human support. When appropriate, myTomorrows' team of patient navigators can work directly with patients and their families. These navigators help gather necessary medical records, explain potential trial options in clear language, and support the referral process, easing the emotional and administrative load on families already under immense stress. Once a referral is made, communication between the referring doctor and the RDR site team is managed through a centralized workflow, replacing the chaotic trail of emails and phone calls that often defines the current process.

Streamlining Science for Faster Breakthroughs

By delivering better-qualified referrals, the partnership aims to fundamentally shift the dynamic at the research site level. Instead of being reactive to a flood of unvetted inquiries, RDR's teams can be more proactive, focusing their expertise on patients who have a higher likelihood of being a match for an active study. This operational efficiency is not just an administrative benefit; it is a critical component in accelerating the pace of research.

"This partnership strengthens our ability to connect with patients earlier and more effectively through the physicians and specialist centers already involved in their care," said Han C. Phan, MD, CEO of Rare Disease Research. "More structured referrals and clearer eligibility alignment can help our teams focus on the patients most likely to be a fit for a given study, while creating a more efficient and supportive experience for families and referring providers."

The sentiment is echoed from the technology side, highlighting the need to reduce friction in the system. "For trial sites, complex recruitment workflows can create unnecessary administrative burden and slow patient access," said Michel van Harten, M.D., CEO of myTomorrows. "By supporting RDR with structured referrals, preliminary trial matching, and coordinated patient engagement, we aim to help simplify the path from referral to site follow-up."

This simplification is key. In a field where every day counts, reducing the time from patient identification to enrollment can have a profound impact on drug development timelines. A more efficient system allows studies to be fully enrolled faster, generating the data needed for regulatory review and, ultimately, bringing new treatments to the patients who desperately need them.

A New Blueprint for Collaboration

The alliance between a specialized research network and a health technology company represents a powerful model for the future of rare disease research. It acknowledges that no single entity can solve these complex challenges alone. The industry is witnessing a shift towards such collaborative ecosystems, where patient advocacy groups, technology innovators, specialized Contract Research Organizations (CROs), and dedicated site networks pool their expertise.

While numerous platforms and services aim to improve trial matching, this partnership's direct integration of an advanced tech platform with a dedicated rare disease site network offers a uniquely streamlined solution. It closes the loop between identification, referral, and site-level evaluation in a way that many broader, registry-based search tools cannot.

By creating a more efficient, patient-centered pathway, myTomorrows and Rare Disease Research are not only hoping to improve referral quality and reduce administrative friction at their initial sites in the Southeastern U.S. but also to create a scalable blueprint. As the rare disease clinical trial market is projected to grow to nearly $32 billion by 2033, such innovative and collaborative models will be essential to ensure that scientific progress translates into tangible hope for patients and their families worldwide.