Year: 2015-16

Company: City of Hope

Liaison(s): James Lacey Jennifer Benbow

Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a leading research
and treatment center for cancer, diabetes, and other
life-threatening diseases. Designated as one of
only 45 comprehensive cancer centers, the highest
recognition bestowed by the National Cancer
Institute, City of Hope is also a founding member of
the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, with
research and treatment protocols that advance care
throughout the nation. The center’s role as a leader
in patient care, basic and clinical research, and the
translation of science into tangible benefit is widely
acknowledged.1,2
Dr. Lacey and his team of population scientists have
developed an innovative, cloud-based, and mobile-
enabled epidemiological software-as-a-service (SAAS)
tool that has potential to revolutionize current research
methods. Transitioning away from the time and effort
associated with traditional pen and paper studies,
this SAAS enables easier collection, entry, and data
analysis along with biospecimen and patient tracking.
Dr. Lacey and his team are trying to decide whether or
not the innovative approach they have developed has
commercial value within population sciences research.
Given the increased use of web and mobile applications
in epidemiology, this TMP project aimed to understand
how this product might be made available to best
serve population sciences and observational research.
. This project will investigate various target markets
for City of Hope’s software, ultimately resulting in a
recommendation of how to best proceed.
To accomplish the objective, the City of Hope TMP
team investigated the competitive landscape of similar
web applications and evaluated potential markets
for this product. Through primary and secondary
research, the team identified user needs and developed
an understanding of fields, both epidemiological and
non-epidemiological, where this tool could be utilized.
A strategic recommendation was provided to identify
the market potential of the tool in various customer
segments