Kelly M. McVearry, President“Our philosophy is rooted in making clinical trials enjoyable,” says Bento Co-Founder and President Kelly McVearry. “Unlike traditional clinical research operations, our trials are fun and patient-centric lowering the participation burden and building trust.”
Bento, an acronym for Biomedical Equity for Next- Generation Trials and Outcomes, aims to radically reduce sponsor costs and time to market while simultaneously increasing patient engagement and diversity. When the participation burden is too high, patients drop out, significantly increasing trial costs and delaying Bento’s competitive advantage lies in its ability to expedite clinical trials—the cornerstone of lifechanging therapies—by shortening the time to market and lowering the price per patient clinical site visit.
Further, Bento increases participant retention and engagement by leveraging gamified symptom diaries and game economies where participants can learn about their disease and earn rewards. The incentive system is seamlessly integrated with its marketplace of self-service sampling tools and scalable kitting software, setting it apart from first-generation decentralized clinical trial companies and legacy CROs.
Reinventing Clinical Trial Participation
Trials at Bento begin online using the ‘Bento Box Hyper Kitting and Logistics Platform,’ a cleanroom marketplace where sponsors create customized bio-sampling kits or ‘Bento Boxes.’ These boxes are thoughtfully curated participant experiences, packed with engaging educational tools and user-friendly instructions. Participants learn how to collect a blood sample using an animated video guided by Bento’s friendly digital concierge—no more deciphering manuals or struggling with language barriers.
Carefully guiding participants through the specimen collection step, Bento participants enter its play-to-learn (P2L) platform. Bento’s P2L platform takes engagement to the next level with interactive games that reward participants for completing tasks and watching bite-sized education lessons relevant to their disease. For instance, after collecting a sample, participants learned about the major histocompatibility complex receptor, a potential drug target for lupus.
Patients track all required data in a frictionless symptom diary integrated into the participate-to-earn (P2E) digital wallet. Bento’s P2E platform eliminates the burden of tedious surveys or manual note-taking, allowing patients to easily record their experiences and contribute valuable data to the trial in realtime.
Bento’s commitment to making clinical trials fun and engaging is evident from the moment participants receive a Bento Box. From the packaging to the clever names for each test—Trickle for blood collection, Swish for vaginal microbiome sampling, Sit Well for stool sampling—every element is designed to spark a smile and ease apprehensions. This attention to detail extends to the entire participant experience, making Bento a true pioneer in patient-centric research.
Many unwilling patients point to the attractand- extract dynamic, where valuable data can sometimes be taken without adequate compensation or recognition, as the basis for their hesitancy. Bento is committed to changing this narrative by championing patient self-sovereignty
From Barriers to Breakthroughs
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical trial sponsors were desperate for a way to continue their studies when patients could not go to trial sites. Bento partnered with 57 top medical center partners across North America to offer an alternative to in-person visits. By breaking down barriers to entry, Bento’s self-service biosampling kits and patient-centered software saved many clinical trials, even allowing some sponsors to expand their target population and reduce attrition rates.
Since its inception, Bento has fostered unprecedented trust with its patients, enabling sponsors to reach rural and underserved populations. By increasing diversity, reducing attrition, and significantly lowering the cost per patient visit, Bento’s methodologies illustrate its transformative impact on the clinical trial landscape. “The user-friendly collection platform and gamified health monitoring application pave the way for increased participation among minority, rural, and other underrepresented groups - including members of our rare disease community,” states Christina M. Hartman, Senior Director, Government Affairs at Orchard Therapeutics.
Bento demonstrated its ability to increase diversity among trial participants during a recent lupus clinical trial. Lupus disproportionately affects women, especially those with darker skin. Bento’s decentralized approach and at-home sampling tools increased participation among women with limited free time. The Bento-supported study was hugely successful, with 100 percent sample return rates and glowing patient feedback.
Changing the Dynamics in Rare Disease Research
Bento is making significant strides in the fields of rare diseases and pediatric research. Recognizing the challenges faced by the rare disease community, the company teamed up with Global Genes, a global non-profit advocacy organization for individuals fighting rare and genetic diseases, to create tailored solutions to support these trials.
Hemo Heroes is Bento’s fun and educational blood collection kit designed for children. By replacing anxiety with excitement, Bento is transforming the experience of repetitive blood draws into a brave mission for young superheroes. Early feedback from children’s focus groups has been overwhelmingly positive, demonstrating the success of Bento’s commitment to making clinical trials less intimidating and more accessible for young patients.
Similarly, Bento’s Super Tooth Fairies initiative is furthering rare disease research with its child-centered baby tooth collection kit. Participating children become scientific sleuths whose teeth will be preserved for potential future stem cell and gene therapy research. This innovative approach supports scientific progress and creates a positive and engaging experience for children and their families.
Success Backed by Data
Trial participants often struggle to complete the required patient feedback surveys and reports. With Bento’s simple, engaging user interface, patient symptom diaries and feedback are captured digitally, at home using mobile phones or tablets, dramatically increasing participation rates. In one study, symptom diary data intended to be collected for two weeks, saw patients voluntarily reporting their symptoms for months after the study was completed. Power users included grandmothers who accumulated enough points after completing tasks and education modules to redeem rewards for their grandchildren.
“I really like the embedded games in the app and winning rewards for daily reporting. It makes me highly motivated to stay engaged,” notes a Bento research participant.
One of the most striking findings is that 98 percent of participants, across various conditions and demographics, reported that using Bento made them more likely to participate in clinical trials. This highlights the platform’s potential to become the industry standard for patient retention and diversity in the clinical research field.
The Team Behind the Innovation
Bento’s team is a powerhouse of talent, bringing together seasoned clinical trial experts, digital platform architects, patient community builders, and award-winning game designers. Their collective achievements include developing digital platforms for the FDA and Fortune 500 companies, building global patient communities and clinical trial networks from scratch, and designing toys recognized by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This diverse background brings a wealth of knowledge, and a unique skill set to the challenge of revolutionizing clinical trials.
The team is unified by a shared belief that patients' distrust of traditional trial models is delaying groundbreaking cures. Many unwilling patients point to the attract-andextract dynamic, where valuable data can sometimes be taken without adequate compensation or recognition, as the basis for their hesitancy. Bento is committed to changing this narrative by championing patient self-sovereignty.
“Bento envisions a future where biological digital twins are owned by the patients themselves, using blockchain technology to create a more equitable and transparent research ecosystem. Viewing patients as value creators, not just research subjects marks a shift toward fairer trials,” notes Dr. McVearry, Bento’s Co-Founder and President.
Future of Patient-Driven Research
Bento’s roadmap for the future focuses on reducing trial participation burdens and addressing the challenges of low recruitment, high attrition, and lack of diversity in clinical research. In the coming year, Bento will expand globally and continue to develop its P2L platform introducing more gamified science education modules for new disease categories. BENTO also aims to create decentralized autonomous communities and biological digital twin builders to empower patients to own their health data and foster a new era of P2E economics in clinical trials.
In April 2024, Bento received the prestigious 2024 Federal 100 from GovExec for its contribution to public sector technology accelerating translational science and health equity. Gartner, a leading technology research firm, has identified Bento as a ‘one to watch’ in the field of health equity technology.
While specific details are under wraps, Bento’s leadership has hinted at exciting developments in the R&D pipeline. These innovations are poised to further differentiate Bento from competitors and solidify its position as a leader in patientcentric clinical research.
“BENTO is fully ready to enter a rapid phase of commercialization and global expansion,” says CEO Rich Goldstein.
Bento’s robust operational infrastructure is capable of supporting studies of any scale and global deployment. With a network of over 150 companies covering 90 percent of the global economy, Bento is well-positioned to deliver on its promise of making clinical trials more accessible, diverse and patient-centric.
