October 5, 2011: Almac and Greenphire form alliance to deliver direct-to-patient payments through IXRS

The Almac Group and Greenphire announced today that Almac’s Clinical Technologies business unit, the leading provider of IXRS® (Interactive Voice and Web Response) services relating to patient and drug supply management, has formed an exclusive alliance with Greenphire to offer joint services relating to patient payment administration for clinical trials. This new service improves current methods of manual patient payment management and alleviates administrative burden on personnel in biopharmaceutical companies and Contract Research Organizations (CROs), allowing them to focus on more study-specific responsibilities. 

Greenphire has worked with Almac to seamlessly incorporate its ClinCard System, a market-leading patient payment management suite of technologies, with Almac’s IXRS® system, an integrated phone and web platform. This unique industry offering provides patients with direct and timely compensation via a branded debit card. After patients complete required study-related tasks and responsibilities (e.g. attending site visits), their debit card is automatically and immediately credited with the appropriate stipend or reimbursement amount. 

The Almac-Greenphire alliance provides several benefits to biopharmaceutical companies. The integrated platform improves operational efficiency, decreases sponsor, site and CRO administrative burden, reduces payment administration costs and timelines, and increases site and patient satisfaction. Research indicates that compensation is one of several important factors that drive patient compliance and eagerness to participate in clinical trials. 

Almac President, Jim Murphy comments on the alliance with Greenphire: “Our customers are increasingly looking to Almac to help them find ways of improving patient management and compliance during clinical trials. Partnering with Greenphire enhances Almac’s suite of patient-centric services by offering direct-to-patient payments to subjects enrolled in clinical trials. This new joint service allows Almac to more efficiently manage patient payments and tie them closely to key study milestones through our IXRS® technology.” 

From Greenphire’s perspective, the strategic partnership with Almac establishes another integrated platform through which the ClinCard System delivers value to pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies. Building on Greenphire’s prior integrations with leading web-based clinical platforms, the ClinCard System will be seamlessly customized to deliver, track, and report patient payments through Almac’s existing IXRS® workflow. As an alternative to manual, paper-based payment management processes, the ClinCard system offers real-time, secure, and easily accessible patient stipend and reimbursement payments.  

Greenphire CEO, Sam Whitaker expressed his enthusiasm with the landmark Almac partnership, saying “Our strategic partnership is groundbreaking. Greenphire’s technology has had a significant impact on driving efficiency to all of the key organizations responsible for executing study operations. Our integrated functionality with Almac not only increases the value to Greenphire's current ClinCard offering, but also drives clinical operational efficiencies which new clients could never have achieved in the past." 

Almac and Greenphire will be featuring a demo of their integrated services at upcoming conferences and trade shows in 2011-12.