TREATMENT – smarT foR sustainablE lAsT Mile delivEry cliNical Trials – is a new project of the University of Siena funded by the European Union – NextGeneration EU as part of Spoke 10 of the PNRR.

The project, coordinated by Deep Blue s.r.l., addresses the shortcomings of the current management of clinical trials based on experimental drugs with the aim of making these studies fast, safe and more accessible to patients.

University of Siena contributes as partners together with Palladio Group S.p.A., Next Generation Sensors s.r.l., ABZero s.r.l.

“Some studies highlighted that many patients who consider participating in a clinical trial due to their serious or rare clinical conditions, because they are not able to attend the check-ups and the periodic meetings for drug administration”- explains Patrizia Marti, professor at the Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences and scientific coordinator of the project for the University of Siena.
“To solve this problem -she adds –  the distributed clinical trials have recently become widespread to deliver the drugs directly to patients’ homes. While on the one hand this solution solves the problem of the geographical distances, on the other hand it creates a series of new critical issues linked to the conditions of transport and storage of drugs, drugs self-administration and effect monitoring. This limits the assessment of the integrity, safety and efficacy of the drugs which are essential conditions for the clinical trials”.
The project aims to develop a monitoring system for experimental drugs along the entire supply chain from the production to the consumption, up to return and recycling. The monitoring system will not only concern the condition of the drugs but also the experience of patients. Furthermore, the project aims to innovate the transport and distribution system to reduce delivery times, CO2 emissions and the impact on traffic, to reach patients with reduced mobility or who live in remote areas or difficult to reach by traditional means of transport.

To enable these new practices, the project will design and develop innovative technologies such as smart packaging, IoT/5G system for tracking and monitoring, and new modes of transport with drones.

The project solutions will be co-designed with the various actors (healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, pharmaceutical companies) to take into account economic, environmental, social and cultural aspects.
This case study will allow the project to experiment with technological solutions and new practices to improve the quality of healthcare and to make city logistics more sustainable.