Oracle Health and AstraZeneca have entered a nonbinding collaboration agreement to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can improve clinical trial recruitment, patient safety monitoring and evidence generation. The initiative aims to integrate insights from clinical research and real-world healthcare data into routine clinical workflows, potentially accelerating patient identification and supporting more informed treatment decisions.
The proposed collaboration will establish an AI-enabled continuous learning model connecting scientific research, clinical trials and everyday patient care. By analyzing real-world datasets, the companies intend to identify patients who may qualify for clinical studies while generating evidence to inform future research and treatment strategies.
Initial efforts will focus on establishing shared governance frameworks, technical infrastructure and measurable outcomes. The companies plan to explore applications across oncology; cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases; respiratory and immunology; and rare diseases, with potential expansion into additional therapeutic areas.
Anne-Claire Gerbaldi, AstraZeneca's Chief Digital, Data and AI Officer, outlined the initiative's objectives: “We aim to harness AI to connect learnings across science, clinical trials and everyday care, generating insights that continuously strengthen research, accelerate innovation and enhance patient outcomes.”
Oracle Health will contribute AI capabilities and clinical workflow integration, enabling research findings to become accessible to healthcare professionals during routine consultations. However, the specific responsibilities of clinical teams in identifying and referring eligible patients have not yet been detailed.
The collaboration reflects growing interest in using AI to address inefficiencies in clinical trial recruitment. Healthcare organizations are increasingly deploying algorithms to analyze electronic health records and identify potentially eligible participants, reducing reliance on manual screening.
For example, Ochsner Health has reported a 41% increase in clinical trial screening capacity and approximately 75% less manual screening work following AI implementation. Cleveland Clinic's Cancer Institute has similarly reported improvements in research nurses' screening efficiency.
Seema Verma, General Manager of Oracle Health and Life Sciences, emphasized the potential implications: “This collaboration has the potential to help health systems identify eligible patients sooner, broaden access to clinical trials, and generate evidence that supports the next decision, all under the governance of the health systems delivering care.”
The agreement remains exploratory, with implementation dependent on the development of appropriate governance and technical frameworks.
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