i-Cubed is a long-term investment in DCRI's capabilities. By embedding innovation into the fabric of our organization, i-Cubed helps the DCRI:

• Improve efficiency across trials

• Create differentiated offerings for sponsors

• Attract and retain top talent

• Anticipate and adapt to future challenges

• Strengthen connections with academic and industry partners

Since launching just over a year ago, i-Cubed has helped the DCRI experiment boldly and safely by creating a collaborative environment for new ideas to be tested—whether those ideas come from inside the DCRI, our academic partners in the Duke ecosystem, or external companies seeking collaboration opportunities. i-Cubed's model reduces risk, increases speed, and provides the structure, support, and expert insight necessary to bring new solutions to the people who need them most.

Here are some of the exciting initiatives that i-Cubed has supported to date. These include innovations launched externally, innovations currently being tested within the DCRI, innovations that have been successfully tested and launched as products or services within the DCRI, and early-stage innovations that are still in the exploration phase.

• ExecRx – An innovative "fractional recruitment" model that connects healthcare and research companies with physician and scientist executives and advisors to help startups scale and grow.

• PreMatch360 – A pre-screening solution that addresses recruitment challenges to minimize participant screening failure, increase engagement, and accelerate trial timelines.

• Luminate Insights – An education and training provider focused on strengthening clinical research capacity within life science organizations.

• KidsHeart – A mobile app for caregivers of infants with severe congenital heart disease that allows vital health data to be tracked at home and shared with care teams.

• BlueButton – An integration with CMS Blue Button 2.0 that enables real-time, de-identified patient data sharing for researchers and providers.

• AI-Driven Clinical Trial Companion – An AI-powered chatbot that automates participant engagement, consent, and education to support smoother clinical trial enrollment.

• AI-Powered Trial Accelerator – A digital platform that integrates clinical trial design, operations, and reporting to streamline collaboration and efficiency.

The i-Cubed Partner Innovations workstream provides consultation and support to existing companies to help them advance new products and initiatives. Currently, i-Cubed provides thought leadership and creates learning labs for soft testing and feedback on a tool or service, followed by integration into DCRI-run trials for real-life testing and feedback.

So far, i-Cubed has completed three revenue-generating Partner Innovation agreements, which include:

• Working with pharmaceutical companies to develop an innovative prototype for anew health information network

• Advising an early-stage health tech startup on product development and integration into large academic medical centers

• Working with a federal government agency to develop a model for the evaluation, testing, validation, and deployment of decentralized clinical trial products and solutions

There are several other exciting Partner Innovation projects underway, so stay tuned for more updates.

Stay tuned to Pulse for features that will continue to highlight the transformative innovations happening at i-Cubed. Connect directly with the i-Cubed team by emailing us at icubedcenter@duke.edu to learn how you can be part of this exciting journey, collaborate with like-minded innovators, and share your ideas to help us revolutionize the field of clinical research.

Do you have an innovation idea? The i-Cubed team is always seeking new concepts and collaborations – just reach out.

• Learn more by visiting the i-Cubed website.

• Stay informed with the latest news and updates by following i-Cubed on LinkedIn and Bluesky.