Traditional clinical trials pose many unique and challenging obstacles for patients, and ultimately, for successful clinical drug development. Existing clinical research paradigms – where clinical trials are designed without regard for patients or real-world applicability – are costly, inconvenient, lengthy, archaic, and unsustainable. A novel paradigm is needed that ensures clinical trials are designed in a patient-focused manner, and where clinical trials are brought directly to patients, democratizing clinical trial access for all. By treating patients as partners – and as the ultimate consumers – we can create a patient-focused, and direct-to-patient clinical trial paradigm, which reduces the burden of clinical trial participation, and accelerates clinical drug development.