Applied Clinical Trials

Editor Andy Studna shares some sound bytes from KOLs he spoke with during SCOPE EUROPE 2023.

Rinol Alaj, senior director, head of clinical outcomes assessment & patient innovation at Regeneron and Jaclyn Patterson, head, clinical trial management & site head, Basking Ridge, also with Regeneron speak to advancements in the clinical trials space, specifically the use of biomarkers and how the benefits of new solutions are transferring to the clinic.

Michael Pourdehnad, MD, senior vice president, head of early clinical development, hematology/oncology & cell therapy at Bristol Myers Squibb discusses the work his team is doing at the site-level with potential oncology, hematology, and cardiovascular therapies. He also explores the area of targeted protein degradation and its evolution as well as his passion for bringing therapies to patients and how it shaped his career path.

Najat Khan, PhD, chief data science officer and global head, strategy, portfolio & operations, R&D, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson shares her career path and how she became interested in clinical data. She also discusses some current trends in artificial intelligence/machine learning such as utilizing them in drug discovery and making clinical trials more inclusive.

Jimmy Bechtel, MBA, vice president of site engagement for the Society of Clinical Research Sites (SCRS) discusses his career path and how he became so interested in clinical trial sites. He also addresses some of the most pressing challenges sites are currently seeing as well as the solutions SCRS is working on to address them.

Chris Economos, Vice President and Head of Life Sciences at Eko, discusses his career journey from pharma to digital health technology, where he recognized the power of AI and digital health to improve clinical care and research. He discusses the current ability of AI in the future use of digital measurements and biomarkers to improve clinical trials, as well as outcomes.

Michael Ibara, Chief Data Officer, Elligo Health Research, discusses the history of mining healthcare data and using it to identify safety events, as well as the evolution of bringing EHR data closer to the clinical research worlds. He also touches on the implications of AI—comparing its fundamental impact as “the new electricity”—and its potential uses for clinical trials, regulatory, and the ethics around large language models.

Charlotte Grayson, MD, clinical research medical director, Privia Health highlights her journey to becoming a physician and eventually getting involved with clinical trials. She also discusses what integrated research organizations (IROs) are now bringing to the table and how they are effective in enrollment and building patient-physician relationships.

Colleen Hoke, Co-Founder and CEO of ObjectiveHealth discusses her career in early-phase research and the transition from working with a startup to a major research organization. She also touches on what her current company, ObjectiveHealth is working on, leadership skills, and the evolution of clinical research.

Craig Serra, Head of Commercial Solutions and Partnerships at Flatiron Health’s Clinical Research Business Unit, discusses data and its many uses in clinical trials that guide operational decision-making; how the people in that work in clinical trials make the difference and how to bring the next generation up in clinical trials.