#23 PatientsLikeMe

David Knowles, a 59-year-old property manager who lives on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, was searching online for information about a new treatment for multiple sclerosis when he came across PatientsLikeMe. Knowles, who has had MS for 10 years and had participated in several patient-community groups, was immediately intrigued. "There's no other site with data like PLM has," says Knowles. "You can click on a symptom and say, 'Well, there's 850 people with this symptom, and this is what they're using to treat it.' "

Knowles was particularly interested in a drug called Tysabri. One of his doctors had recommended it, but Knowles was concerned about negative side effects (brain infection, anxiety, fatigue). On PatientsLikeMe, Knowles found data from hundreds of patients taking Tysabri. After reviewing their results, he decided the risks outweighed the rewards for him, and he went to his doctor with a list of other treatments he wanted to discuss instead. "I feel like I'm in charge of my medical care now," he says. "Of course, I still listen to my neurologists, but now it's more of a team approach."

	WHEN FOUNDED 2004	HEADQUARTERS Cambridge, MA	CEO Cofounders Jeff Cole (CTO), Ben Heywood (president), James Heywood (chairman)	NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 31

PatientsLikeMe

total revenues for most recent fiscal year
Private

what the company is most famous for
Useful patient communities online.

why it's innovative
For creating a data-rich resource for patients suffering from similar symptoms, especially chronic conditions.

web
http://www.patientslikeme.com

blog
http://blog.patientslikeme.com

twitter
http://twitter.com/patientslikeme

PatientsLikeMe cofounders Ben and Jamie Heywood started the site after their brother Stephen was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). Since 2008, they have set up data-rich communities for several other chronic ailments, including fibromyalgia and Parkinson's disease, and they plan to add more in the coming year. That should benefit many more people like Knowles, who lauds PatientsLikeMe for its "wealth of information about treatments from people who are actually using them. And you can follow patient responses over time -- after three months, six months, a year." Sounds like the future of medical care for chronic diseases.