We are pleased to provide the recap of the 14th annual DPHARM®: Disruptive Innovations to Advance Clinical Research conference, which took place on September 17-18, 2024. For those who were in attendance, enjoy the photos and a snap shot of a number of highlights and to those who were not able to join us, we are pleased to keep you in the loop.
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Attendees heard from senior clinical operations executives,
technologists and key opinion leaders on how and where to
innovate in a resource-constrained environment, ultimately driving
greater inclusivity and value for patients.
DPHARM 2024 began with patient advocate Sarah Zenner-Dolan and Parexel CEO Peyton Howell, MHA; Zenner-Dolan gave her perspective as a former pharma executive and a clinical trial participant, discussing her diagnosis journey, her experience in clinical trials, and her thoughts for clinical operations professionals.
Kenneth Getz, MBA, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, presented research from the CSDD examining the short- and long-term return on investments of DCT deployments and results from the PACT consortium of 20+ sponsors and CROs on actual DCT use in recent trials, with more information from the collaborative expected in the next year.
Faisal M. Khan, PhD, Novo Nordisk, brought DPHARM up-to-speed on the reality of AI and GenAI in drug development, and provided the audience with the tools and understanding of how to use AI to medicine development’s benefit.
High-level panel discussions focused on efficiency in resource constraints. First, Takeda, Parexel, Regeneron, Merck & Co, Greenphire and LLR Partners tackled aligning innovations to solve the big challenges in clinical trials – from implementing automation to meeting complexity where it’s at. Then, CSL Behring, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim and Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, focused on how pharma clinical operations teams were shifting operating models to translate complex protocols into more efficient trials. Finally, Takeda, Merck & Co, Bayer and Novartis discussed how to develop an ecosystem-approach for problem-solving solutions and making a difference in clinical development and simplifying for speed but maintaining quality and safety.
Outside-industry keynotes brought a fresh perspective to the work that medicine developers are doing. Ambassador “Sully” Sullenberger, U.S. Airways Flight 1549 Captain, detailed the honed focus and decision-making he had to demonstrate, balancing risk against time, to achieve the water-landing Miracle on the Hudson, giving lessons for pharma on making hard decisions when it matters the most. Award-winning guitar virtuoso Mike Rayburn challenged the audience to create change with a “What If” mindset, viewing the complexity and tight resources of the current market as a jumping off point, and not an impediment.
Technologists and service providers gave the attendees insight into the work they are doing for patient-centric clinical trial services, decentralized clinical trials, mobile and digital technology, incorporating EHR, RWE and eCOA, and pushing the industry forward into the future of clinical trials.
Sponsors identified how they were advancing clinical trials through enhancing protocol designs, cycle efficiency and speed; optimizing business processes and delivering value through strategic collaborations, and pushing forward large-scale innovation, organizational ambidexterity and workforce diversity.
DPHARM Idol Disrupt returned with a new slate of highly vetted finalists who presented how they were developing a disruptive technology/service that could be a changing force for clinical trials. The winner, Power, impressed the judges with their simple and user-friendly platform that helped patients navigate clinical trial options, scanned patient-uploaded medical documents for inclusion/exclusion criteria to match patients to potential trials, and let patients browse nearby clinical trial sites.
The event convened approximately 1,000 professionals across the
clinical trial landscape, focused on innovation to modernize clinical
trials to get more therapeutics to more patients faster.
