The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the value of sound and reliable medical research to society. Vaccines have been developed in record time, and according to recent numbers, more than 40% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine – barely 2 years after the disease’s first appearance.
These extraordinary results stand in sharp contrast with the painfully slow development timelines that are normally seen. Typically, new medical solutions only enter the market after many years or even decades of research and development. Costs and time are driven especially by the development stage known as ‘clinical trials’, during which the candidate medicine is tested in humans.
While clinical trials are crucial for ensuring the safety and efficacy of new vaccines and therapeutics, they are plagued by problems and inefficiencies. Modern-day clinical trials are hampered by extreme cases of fragmentation, where data is often spread across many different systems and sites. As a result, the vast majority of clinical trial professionals suffer from a lack of oversight over their clinical trial processes. This is leading to development delays, unnecessary costs, and uncertainty about the integrity and reliability of collected research data. Not surprisingly, clinical trials have become increasingly costly and inefficient over the past decade, and regulators such as the US FDA and European Union’s EMA have been calling for improved data traceability and auditability.
Last year’s COVID-19 vaccine race showed the world that there are clear opportunities for improving clinical trial efficiency, while also upholding patient safety and scientific integrity. Blockchain start-up Triall shows that these opportunities can also be seized outside of epidemic emergencies of global concern. Triall, founded by blockchain and clinical trial experts in early 2018, has been developing software solutions to optimize clinical trial processes.
As a frontrunner in the 200-billion-dollar clinical trial industry, Triall leverages blockchain technology to improve the integrity, traceability, and auditability of research data, while also using decentralized identity solutions to enable secure and efficient integrations between the many systems involved in clinical trials.
These features promise to secure and streamline clinical trials, accelerating the development of safe and affordable new medicines for patients in need.
The World’s First Digital Ecosystem for Clinical Trials, Enabled by Blockchain Technology
Triall takes a unique ‘ecosystem approach’, since the company not only focuses on developing its own software solutions but also doubles down on interoperability by offering blockchain-integrated APIs. These APIs enable external software providers to synergize with Triall’s blockchain infrastructure, providing them with an easy entry into blockchain functionalities while also allowing them to communicate with other connected solutions.
Triall solutions are designed to easily integrate with different blockchain platforms and can therefore be considered as blockchain-agnostic. The applications currently offer standard integrations with the blockchain servers of LTO Network and the Factom Protocol, while also periodically anchoring on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The company’s first commercial product Verial eTMF is already being used and onboarded in a growing number of clinical trial projects, including an IBS, autoimmune disease, and COVID-19 vaccine project. Triall piloted the first version of this application in the summer of 2019, which was credited as the world’s first implementation of blockchain in a live and running clinical trial.
Tokenizing Medical Research with a Two-Token System
Triall is launching a two-token system, consisting of the main utility token TRL and its counterpart T-CRED. The token system is designed to accelerate the global buildout of the Triall ecosystem, and to enable fair and equitable sharing of benefits among all its stakeholders.
As its primary utility, the token system facilitates payment for software solutions offered within the Triall ecosystem. If a customer wants to use a Triall solution, TRL is purchased from an exchange and converted to T-CRED at a fixed conversion rate of 100 USD. This conversion mechanism stabilizes the costs of Triall software subscriptions, which are charged in T-CRED. It also enables the introduction of a token burn mechanism, where 2,5% of tokens are burned when converting T-CRED back to TRL.
Next to payments, TRL is also used for P2P compensation, community engagement, governance, and lock-up incentives, such as memberships and staking programs. These utilities outline the community aspects of Triall as the company effectively bridges the gap between the medical and crypto domains.
Building, Supporting and Rewarding a Triall Community
Triall will launch its token TRL in an initial DEX offering (IDO) at Uniswap on September 28 supported by the TrustPad and ProStarter launchpads. Over the past months, the project rapidly built momentum by growing a thriving community and raising more than $1,6M in its token pre-sale. Moreover, Triall partnered with prominent crypto and DeFi companies including Zokyo, Ferrum Network, and LTO Network.
As part of its launch, Triall also introduced a staking program. The project has set aside 8 million TRL tokens to reward early adopters of TRL and the first staking pool, which opens on September 28, has an APR of 250%. To be able to stake, token holders first need to go through a whitelisting process where they familiarize themselves with Triall, its token, and its vision (whitelisting is open and can be done by following this link).
After its launch, Triall aims to actively involve its community in the decision-making and governance of the Triall ecosystem by putting topics up for voting and by introducing the Triall Community Fund, an investment vehicle containing 10% of the total TRL supply. This fund will sponsor community-grown initiatives, where the community can propose and vote on initiatives that support the growth of the Triall ecosystem.
It’s clear that Triall’s journey has only just begun as more and more partners, advisors, investors, and stakeholders join its mission for smarter, safer, and more efficient clinical trials.
For more info on Triall, the TRL token, and the TRL token launch, visit their website triall.io