The Brussels-based start-up founded following the Covid-19 crisis has developed a high-performance tool to connect patients willing to participate in clinical trials and research teams looking for volunteers. Already operating in several European countries, the company is reaffirming its international intentions.
What could Suseia and Seaters, two businesses specialising in the events sector, Qvax, the platform that proved particularly effective during the Covid-19 pandemic, and CUREWIKI all have in common? Jean-Sébastien Gosuin! The founder of all these businesses, who defines himself as a serial entrepreneur, has become a master in streamlining flows – flows of supporters, of people buying tickets, of vaccination candidates. And, more recently, of volunteers in the medical research sector. He insists on “always putting individuals at the heart of the process.”
The art of reinventing yourself
It was the Covid-19 crisis that caused this business leader to make the switch from events to the medical sector. “The pandemic paralysed everything,” he recalls. “As an entrepreneur, you have to know how to reinvent yourself. It turned out that we had a tool that had been developed in the events sector that was perfect to relieve the problems encountered in implementing the vaccination campaign. Two million Belgians were able to register on Qvax, and 650,000 of them were officially vaccinated.“
From the challenges of registering citizens for vaccinations to the problems patients face in accessing clinical trials, it wasn’t a huge leap for Jean-Sébastien Gosuin to make at the end of the pandemic. The entrepreneur, himself a childhood cancer survivor, aims to help patients find clinical trials that are likely to help them depending on their condition.
Compilation and analysis in the spotlight
CUREWIKI provides the public with a database of just over 14,000 studies carried out across approximately 170,000 sites and by teams of varying specialities, which accounts for 60% of the studies currently recruiting in Europe. Using AI, the start-up cross-references and divides up each of these trials, smooths out the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and generates simplified questionnaires that are accessible to interested patients. The goal is to produce a shortlist of two or three studies that the patients in question can freely apply to.
All about inclusivity
“The aim is in no way to bypass the medical profession,” Jean-Sébastien Gosuin insists. “In fact, we encourage those who use CUREWIKI’s services to discuss it with their doctor. Working on the front line, there isn’t enough time to find out about all the studies that may be relevant to one patient or another. This helps us avoid some people falling through the cracks. We also enable everyone to take part in a study, regardless of their age, gender, social class or place of residence. It has been shown that 60% of Belgians, and therefore patients, have expressed their desire to contribute to better medical practice, whether through questionnaires or a clinical trial.” In Europe, 32,000 patients, including 15,000 Belgians, are already registered on the platform.
Aiming for efficiency
As far as the research teams are concerned, there’s something in it for them, too. “Our aim isn’t to increase the numbers of people potentially qualifying for the trials listed. On the contrary, we carry out early pre-selection processes, removing false hope and wasted time both for the individuals concerned and for the research community. This allows us to help the already overwhelmed hospital system save time and therefore money.”
The business leader also specified that, without the help of a tool like CUREWIKI, a research team has to ‘screen’ five hopefuls to approve a single candidate. Each of these screenings costs approximately €300, as well as a lot of energy. This all means that “in Europe, 80% of studies are delayed or never launched, due to a lack of participants,” he laments, before reassuring us, “We’re neutral and agnostic. We are merely playing the role of an accelerator, a tool to increase efficiency in recruitment both for patients and research teams. Our technology can capture a true ‘desire to participate’. The hospital retains full control over the final decision on whether or not to accept someone in a research protocol.“
Pan-European ambitions
The development of such a tool is a major undertaking, the cost of which falls on the research sector in the form of licences, most of the time borne by the pharmaceutical companies sponsoring the studies. Jean-Sébastien Gosuin has decided to focus on the growth of CUREWIKI with a “clear, pan-European ambition. We intend to have all European studies listed by 2025 and we’re aiming to be profitable by 2026,” he explains.
Contracts have been signed with two major operators in the sector, one American and the other German, a communication campaign has been launched, and the team – currently boasting around fifteen tech specialists – is being opened up to other specialities.
Deeply rooted in Brussels
The start-up has been collaborating harmoniously with Brussels institutions since they started working with the lifetech.brussels cluster in 2022, “of which we are an active member” he explains. “Thanks to them, we were able to present CUREWIKI at the annual event and participate in a trade fair in Berlin.“
Equally, finance&invest.brussels’ involvement in CUREWIKI has strengthened the company’s roots in Brussels. All these interactions are sure to delight Jean-Sébastien Gosuin, a strong supporter of any synergies and collaborations for his business and, of course, for the development of Brussels’ medtech ecosystem.
