FDA launches app for healthcare professionals

The US Food and Drug Administration announced the global launch of CURE ID, an Internet-based repository that will allow the clinical community to report their experiences treating difficult-to-treat infectious diseases with novel uses of existing FDAapproved drugs through a website, a smartphone or other mobile device. The platform enables the crowdsourcing of medical information from healthcare providers to guide potentially life-saving interventions and facilitate the development of new drugs for neglected diseases. The repository is a collaboration between the FDA and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“The CURE ID application focusses on drugs for infectious diseases lacking adequate treatments, including neglected tropical diseases, emerging infectious threats and infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant organisms. When healthcare professionals directly input their clinical cases into the app, CURE ID allows these real-world experiences to be organised and analysed much faster, making it easier to spot promising new uses for existing drugs,” said Amy Abernethy, Principal Deputy Commissioner, FDA.

The app works by collecting a simple case report form from caregivers about their experience using an approved product for an unapproved use. Healthcare professionals can browse from a collection of cases that have already been documented, including successful and unsuccessful treatments, in addition to viewing relevant clinical trials and those open to enrollment at clinicaltrials.gov. App users can also participate in a treatment discussion forum where they can engage with fellow providers globally. The FDA plans to reach out to healthcare providers in various disciplines, including infectious and tropical diseases, to encourage them to use the app.

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