On a completed Phase 3 autoimmune connective tissue disease program, Leapcure delivered 43% of total US enrollments. Now we're bringing that same approach to Systemic Sclerosis (SSc).

Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is a complex, multi-organ autoimmune connective tissue disease with the same site engagement, records, and travel barriers Leapcure already overcame. We activate a 30+ partner autoimmune advocacy network and pre-screen every referral so sites get patients ready to enroll.

Talk to our systemic sclerosis teamSee how it works →
59%
Of enrollment from opted-in sites
sites that chose to work with Leapcure
7 of 9
Sites enrolled a Leapcure patient
at least one Leapcure-referred patient
4
Sites at 100% Leapcure referrals
enrolled entirely Leapcure-referred patients
30+
Autoimmune advocacy partnerships
engaged across the community

Understanding Systemic Sclerosis as a Clinical Trial Indication

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), commonly called scleroderma, is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease in which the immune system drives inflammation and excess collagen, hardening the skin and, in its systemic form, damaging internal organs. It can affect the lungs, heart, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract, and complications such as interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension are leading causes of mortality. It is rare, disproportionately affects women, and its severity and organ involvement vary widely from patient to patient, which is part of what makes it hard to study.

For sponsors, that multi-organ, connective tissue nature is exactly what makes recruitment difficult. Eligible patients are dispersed and hard to reach, they are managed across rheumatology, pulmonology, and other specialties, and confirming eligibility often depends on medical records that take time to assemble. Sites vary in how actively they engage, and patients frequently face travel constraints that suppress participation. These are the same access barriers that make autoimmune connective tissue disease trials slow, and they are the barriers Leapcure has already worked through.

Our results come from a completed Phase 3 autoimmune connective tissue disease program across the US and Germany, the same disease family as systemic sclerosis. On that program Leapcure enrolled 13 patients, representing 43% of total US enrollments during the program's scope. 59% of enrollment came from sites that opted in to work with Leapcure, 7 of 9 sites enrolled at least one Leapcure-referred patient, and 4 sites enrolled 100% Leapcure-referred patients. A 30+ partner autoimmune advocacy network, including the Autoimmune Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the National Organization for Rare Disorders, built the community trust that drove the majority of that enrollment. The same access barriers, the same approach, and the same network extend directly into systemic sclerosis.

The Challenge

Systemic sclerosis recruitment is defined by access barriers, not awareness. Dispersed patients, cautious sites, slow records, and hard travel all have to be solved together.

Site engagement varies, and passive sites stall enrollment

In multi-organ autoimmune trials, sites differ widely in how actively they identify and refer patients. Sponsors that rely on sites to self-generate enrollment watch some sites carry the study while others contribute nothing. A recruitment partner has to lift the sites that would otherwise sit idle.

On a completed Phase 3 autoimmune connective tissue disease program, 59% of enrollment came from sites that opted in to work with Leapcure, and 4 sites enrolled 100% Leapcure-referred patients.

Medical record delays slow eligibility confirmation

Confirming eligibility in connective tissue disease often depends on assembling records across specialties, and those delays push back screening and enrollment. Recruitment that does not actively manage the records and pre-screening process loses time it cannot get back on a competitive trial.

Leapcure pre-screens every referral and manages the path to eligibility confirmation, part of the high-touch approach that delivered 43% of total US enrollments on a completed connective tissue disease program.

Patient travel constraints suppress participation

Systemic sclerosis patients are dispersed and often managing significant disease burden, so travel to a site is a real barrier to joining and staying in a trial. Referrals that ignore travel and logistics never screen, and sites feel the shortfall.

Leapcure's Patient Success team guides each patient and their caregivers through logistics and expectations, which is why 7 of 9 sites on a completed connective tissue disease program enrolled at least one Leapcure-referred patient.

The eligible population is hard to reach and dispersed

SSc is rare, varies widely in presentation, and its patients are spread thinly across geographies and specialties. Standard site-based recruitment cannot find enough of them. Reaching this population takes trusted community relationships and multi-channel outreach that meets patients where they already are.

A 30+ partner autoimmune advocacy network, including the Autoimmune Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the National Organization for Rare Disorders, drove the majority of enrollment on a completed connective tissue disease program.

Three steps. One strategy built for your systemic sclerosis trial.

Leapcure applies the same high-touch, multi-channel approach that drove outsized results on a completed connective tissue disease program to the access barriers SSc presents.

1

Activate our autoimmune advocacy network and precision digital

We activate a 30+ partner autoimmune advocacy network, including the Autoimmune Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the National Organization for Rare Disorders, alongside grassroots communities and precision digital campaigns. Outreach reaches a dispersed SSc population through sources they already trust, mapped to your eligibility criteria and site locations.

2

Overcome site engagement, records, and travel barriers with high-touch outreach

We lift passive sites by generating and pre-screening referrals directly, actively manage the medical-record and eligibility path, and support patients and caregivers through travel and logistics. Sites conduct official screening. We make sure the patients who arrive are informed, eligible, and prepared.

3

Optimize weekly by site-level enrollment data

We track enrollment and referral quality at the site level every week and rebalance advocacy, digital, and patient support toward the sites and geographies that are converting, so enrollment keeps moving rather than concentrating in a few sites.

Completed Phase 3 autoimmune connective tissue disease program, US and Germany: 43% of total US enrollments.

Challenge Context

Experience

A completed Phase 3 autoimmune connective tissue disease program, same disease family as systemic sclerosis. Adjacent proof, not an SSc-specific trial.

Sponsor

Leading Autoimmune Sponsor, Phase 3 (no study named)

Geography

Active sites across the US and Germany

Challenge

A dispersed, hard-to-reach connective tissue disease population, uneven site engagement, medical record delays that slowed eligibility confirmation, and patient travel constraints.

Channels Deployed

A 30+ partner autoimmune advocacy network, precision digital, high-touch Patient Success support, active pre-screening, and weekly site-level optimization.

Results & Metrics

Enrollment Outperformance

13 patients enrolled, representing 43% of total US enrollments during the program's scope.

Opted-In Site Contribution

59% of enrollment came from sites that opted in to work with Leapcure.

Site Coverage

7 of 9 sites enrolled at least one Leapcure-referred patient.

Exclusive Site Enrollment

4 sites enrolled 100% Leapcure-referred patients.

Sponsor Attribution

Leading Autoimmune Sponsor, Phase 3 connective tissue disease

Four capabilities. Proven in connective tissue disease. Ready for systemic sclerosis.

Leapcure reaches and qualifies systemic sclerosis patients through a named autoimmune advocacy network, precision digital, high-touch patient support, and answer-engine visibility delivered to your trial.

Autoimmune Advocacy Network

  • •A 30+ partner autoimmune advocacy network, with named relationships including the Autoimmune Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the National Organization for Rare Disorders.
  • •Grassroots and community channels, including patient communities on Reddit, are folded into the network and drive additional reach into a dispersed population.
  • •This network built the community trust that drove the majority of enrollment on a completed connective tissue disease program.

Precision Digital Campaigns

  • •Search, autoimmune and connective tissue disease communities, and platform-native advocacy content, targeted by geography, eligibility, and site proximity.
  • •Digital is mapped to site capacity so referrals stay matched to where sites can screen.
  • •Messaging is built for a dispersed, multi-organ patient population rather than a single generic audience.

High-Touch Patient Success Support

  • •A Patient Success team guides each patient and their caregivers through eligibility, records, travel, and expectations from first contact to enrollment.
  • •This support is why Leapcure referrals arrive informed and prepared, which reduces screen-fail and coordinator burden.
  • •It is also how we overcome the travel and access barriers that suppress SSc participation.

Answer-Engine and AI-Search Visibility

  • •Systemic sclerosis patients increasingly ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overview which trials they may be eligible for. We make your trial's information genuinely retrievable for those engines.
  • •We do this with crawlable, factually rich content, cited sources, and presence in the advocacy and community sources AI engines actually cite, not schema tricks or content written for machines.
  • •This puts your study where high-intent patients are already searching.

Built on trusted relationships in the autoimmune community

Leapcure's autoimmune advocacy partnerships are active and named. Grassroots and community channels are folded into the 30+ count, so every named relationship on this page is real.

Autoimmune Association

Leading cross-condition autoimmune organization and credibility anchor for connective tissue disease outreach

Muscular Dystrophy Association

Established neuromuscular and rare disease network extending reach into overlapping patient communities

National Organization for Rare Disorders

Trusted rare disease advocate supporting trial awareness across dispersed patient populations

Grassroots and community channels

Patient communities, including Reddit, folded into the 30+ partner count and counted rather than individually named

Living with systemic sclerosis? A clinical trial may be an option.

If you are living with systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, a clinical trial may give you access to investigational treatments that are not yet widely available. We know SSc can affect many parts of the body and that travel, records, and energy all factor into any decision. Leapcure's team offers step-by-step support, answers your questions, and includes your family or caregivers wherever that helps.

See if a systemic sclerosis trial may be right for you
Leapcure kangaroo mascot

On a completed Phase 3 autoimmune connective tissue disease program across the US and Germany, Leapcure delivered 43% of total US enrollments, with 59% of enrollment from opted-in sites and 4 sites enrolling 100% Leapcure-referred patients, all built on a 30+ partner autoimmune advocacy network. Systemic sclerosis presents the same access barriers, and the same approach applies directly. Talk to our systemic sclerosis team about your active or upcoming trial.

Talk to our systemic sclerosis team