Sensors, Wearables and Digital Biomarkers in Clinical Trials

Technology, Infrastructure and Analytics for Digital Data Sources & Endpoints

March 2 - 3, 2021 ALL TIMES EST

Clinical research industry is moving toward end-to-end digital clinical trials. The data collection should stay in line with this inevitable change and wearables and point-of-care sensors address this need. Furthermore, digital biomarkers translate new data sources into clinically actionable insights. CHI’s 4th Annual Sensors, Wearables and Digital Biomarkers in Clinical Trials conference is designed to feature case studies of clinical trials that already employ sensors and wearables, as well as to discuss the future steps needed for implementation of digital biomarkers and endpoints in clinical trials.

Tuesday, March 2

THE ACCELERATION OF DRUG DEVELOPMENT DUE TO THE PANDEMIC

8:00 am LIVE PLENARY PRESENTATION:

Delivering When It Matters, COVID-19 Edition: Pfizer’s Vaccine Trial Execution Strategies and Technology-Enabled Operations

Panel Moderator:
Demetris Zambas, Vice President & Global Head, Data Monitoring & Management, Pfizer Inc.

Pfizer has been collaborating across the healthcare innovation ecosystem to address the COVID-19 global health care crisis. Pfizer’s stage III coronavirus vaccine trial has enrolled more than 44,000 volunteers and will be completed by the time of the conference. This outstanding effort required leadership, focus and dedication of the entire company and critical stakeholders. All of the industry’s and company’s previous work and innovations were pressure tested to meet the challenging scope of the trial. With a critical global need, the only gauge had to be the “speed of science” with all appropriate quality controls. This panel will discuss Pfizer’s vaccine trial execution strategies and technology-boosted operations.

Panelists:
Brett Wilson, Senior Director, Vaccines TA Lead Data Monitoring & Management, Global Biometrics & Data Management, Global Product Development, Pfizer Inc.
Ralph Russo, Senior Director & Global Head, Clinical Database Management, Pfizer Inc.
Nicholas Kitchin, MD, Senior Director, Vaccine Clinical Research and Development, Pfizer
Helen Smith, Senior Director, Clinical Study Team Lead, CD and O, Pfizer
Liping Zhang, Senior Director, Vaccines Statistical Programming and Analysis Lead, Pfizer Inc
Darren Cowan, Executive Director & Area Head USA, Canada, Pfizer
Beth Paulukonis, Executive Director, Study Management Group Lead, Clinical Development and Operations, Pfizer
9:30 am

PLENARY PRESENTATION: Fireside Chat: Accelerated Drug Development in Response to the Pandemic: Lessons Learned and Key Drivers

Panel Moderator:
Deborah Borfitz, Lead Contributor, Publications, Cambridge Healthtech Institute

Companies adopting tech per Covid, perpetual proof of concept and pilot mode needs to stop, is response to Covid temp or a new normal? Lessons learned is important, but look ahead to 4,000+ active studies still happening in other indications/diseases! Covid burn out. The drug dev paradigm is out of date! What were the accelerants? So, lasting lessons from pandemic are not tactics but behaviors. The cat is out of the bag on the need and desire for more remote/virtual trials – especially if you ask a patient!

Panelists:
Ken Getz, MBA, Founder, CISCRP; Deputy Director, Center for the Study of Drug Development, Tufts University School of Medicine
Leonard Sacks, MD, Associate Director, Clinical Methodology, Office of Medical Policy, CDER, FDA

DIGITAL HEALTH AND DIGITAL ENDPOINTS

9:55 am

Digital Health in Early Development – From Vision to Realization

David Fauvart, Associate Director, Janssen Clinical Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D
Peter Verwilst, MD, Research Physician, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

This session will describe how Janssen Clinical Innovation is partnering with the Janssen Clinical Pharmacology Unit (CPU) to identify, test and ultimately implement a suite of digital health technologies. We will discuss both the perspective of the end-user (CPU physician) and the perspective of the innovator (JCI) and will illustrate how their common objectives have resulted into a strong innovation partnership.

10:15 am

Implementing Digital Biomarkers in GSK Studies: Two Use Cases in RA and ALS

Luis Garcia-Gancedo, PhD, Director, Digital Biomarkers, GlaxoSmithKline

In this talk I will give an overview of our main considerations for choosing and deploying digital health technology tools in GSK clinical trials. As an example, I will explain how we went about investigating the potential benefits digital biomarkers may bring to our assets and patients in two different disease areas: rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

10:55 am

Digital Ops: Integrating and Validating Multiple Digital Devices in a Clinical Trial

Ariel Dowling, PhD, Director of Digital Strategy, Data Sciences Institute, Research and Development, Takeda Pharmaceuticals

 

From device deployment until data analysis, digital devices create a unique operational challenge for clinical trials. A single clinical trial may have 3 or 4 digital devices (such as a wearable device, an ePRO, and a smartphone), each from separate vendors with a separate cloud server that is not integrated with the chosen CRO. Operationally integrating these devices into a clinical trial requires specific in-depth knowledge of both the digital devices and the clinical operations workflow.  This presentation will discuss common challenges that arise within a clinical trial focused on validating a digital device in a specific patient population, and will recommend best practices for integrating multiple digital devices into a single trial.

 

Dawn Anderson, Managing Director, Life Sciences, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Manesh Patel, M.D., Richard S. Stack Distinguished Professor; Chief, Division of Cardiology; Co-Director Duke Heart Cent, Duke Clinical Research Institute

When conducting clinical trials today and in the future, consistently improving the patient journey and revolutionizing study approaches is central to success and innovation. Hear how Duke University and Deloitte are addressing the future of clinical trials today through innovative recruitment, enrollment, retention, and event ascertainment strategies combined with the use of connected health devices and end-to-end patient experience technology platforms.

11:35 am LIVE: PANEL DISCUSSION:

Digitalization of Clinical Trials: Novel Data and Technology Strategies

Panel Moderator:
Sina Djali, Head of Clinical & Operations Analytics, Janssen R&D LLC
Panelists:
Francis Kendall, Head of Oncology Programming, Biometrics, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca
Ariel Dowling, PhD, Director of Digital Strategy, Data Sciences Institute, Research and Development, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Luis Garcia-Gancedo, PhD, Director, Digital Biomarkers, GlaxoSmithKline
David Fauvart, Associate Director, Janssen Clinical Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D
Ozgur Ozkan, IT Director, R&D IT, Janssen R&D
Peter Verwilst, MD, Research Physician, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
Dawn Anderson, Managing Director, Life Sciences, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Manesh Patel, M.D., Richard S. Stack Distinguished Professor; Chief, Division of Cardiology; Co-Director Duke Heart Cent, Duke Clinical Research Institute
Alexandre Malouvier, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Decentralized Clinical Trial Operations RWS, PRA Health Sciences
12:10 pm Session Break - Visit Our Virtual Exhibit Hall
Billy Byrom, VP Product Intelligence & Positioning, Marketing, Signant Health

DEEP; DATA FLOW

1:00 pm

DEEP – Digital Endpoints Ecosystem and Platform

Kai Langel, Director, Clinical Innovation, Janssen Cilag SA

This presentation will address several questions such as: -Digital Measures in life sciences – what are the use cases and value propositions? -What are the barriers for adoption and why is it so hard? -What have we learned about tech adoption over the past decades? -What could we do across the ecosystem to help accelerate adoption?

1:20 pm

Managing Adherence for Digital Devices: An AbbVie Case Study

Aman Thukral, Director & Head, Clinical Systems & Digital Operations, AbbVie, Inc.

Pharmaceutical sponsors are leveraging many digital devices in study protocols to measure efficacy and real world data. However, patients don't adhere to these technologies and sponsors witness a lot of missing data. This presentation outlines approach to measure and manage the subject adherence.


Marie McCarthy, Senior Director of Product Innovation, Scientific Medical Affairs, ICON plc

This session will take a deep dive into maximizing the value of device data. Focusing on using the devices to generate digital endpoints, the potential to democratize clinical trials, create robust data for payers and support labelling claims.

2:00 pm

Lessons from TransCelerate’s Digital Data Flow Virtual Hackathon: Interoperability, Digitized Protocols, and a Common Data Model

William Illis, Global Head, Collaboration & Technology Strategy Clinical Development, Novartis Pharmaceuticals

The TransCelerate Digital Data Flow (DDF) Initiative's objective is to automate and optimize the configuration of clinical trial data capture and operational systems. Launched in 2018, DDF has outlined an approach to interoperability centered on a digitized protocol and a Common Data Model. In this session, TransCelerate members from Novartis, UCB, Amgen, Pfizer and Roche will share how the roadmap to enable end-to-end data flow has evolved from development of a Conceptual Design for a study builder to discussions about a common data model, interoperability and open architecture.

Matt Baker, Senior Director, Business Development, Sales, VirTrial- a Signant Health Company
Jamie Wardynski, MBA, Director, Clinical Operations, Paidon Research

In recent years, home health visits at a patient’s home have become a viable DCT option to incorporate into clinical study protocols. Some sponsors and CROs are utilizing wearables to provide visibility during home health visits. One such example is Paidion Research, who has recently partnered with VirTrial- a Signant Health Company. Learn how they worked together to provide site oversight with virtual monitoring glasses for their home health nurses to wear. 

Robin Marcus, RN, BSN, Covance by Labcorp

Under pressure to maintain patient safety and trial continuity during the pandemic, what had been a tentative, exploratory adoption curve for decentralized clinical trial (DCT) models quickly transitioned to the beginning of a new normal for patient-centric clinical trial conduct. Because DCT design doesn’t follow the traditional templates, some felt they were going back to the drawing board with each trial. For this reason, we’ve introduced a series of pre-packaged solutions 

2:50 pm LIVE:

Speaker Q&A Panel

Panel Moderator:
Aman Thukral, Director & Head, Clinical Systems & Digital Operations, AbbVie, Inc.
Marie McCarthy, Senior Director of Product Innovation, Scientific Medical Affairs, ICON plc
Panelists:
Kai Langel, Director, Clinical Innovation, Janssen Cilag SA

CREATIVITY AND ENGAGEMENT IN RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION COMMUNICATIONS: SCOPE’S PARTICIPANT ENGAGEMENT AWARDS

3:15 pm LIVE:

SCOPE’s 2021 Participant Engagement Awards

Panel Moderator:
David Sall, President & CEO, Marketing, Patient Enrollment Advisors LLC

Designed to inspire innovation and change in how the industry communicates with participants in the fields of recruitment and retention in clinical trials, this award embodies the values and personal accomplishments of Jerry Matczak, who sadly passed away soon after receiving the 2017 award. We dedicate this award to Jerry in the hope that it will serve as a reminder of his ideals and accomplishments.

SCOPE’s 2021 Participant Engagement Award program is brought to you by Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI)’s SCOPE.

Panelists:
Phyllis Kaplan, Trial Volunteer and Patient Advocate; Senior Manager, Events & Community Engagement, Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP)
Irfan Khan, CEO, Circuit Clinical
Kelly McKee, Senior Director, Patient Recruitment and Registries, Medidata Solutions
Ramona Burress, Assoc Dir, Diversity & Inclusion in Clinical Trials, Janssen R&D LLC
4:05 pm Interactive Breakout Discussions - Visit Our Virtual Exhibit Hall

Join your colleagues and fellow delegates for a focused, informal discussion moderated by a member of our speaking faculty. A small group format allows participants to meet potential collaborators, share examples from their own work and discuss ideas with peers. View all topics here.

BREAKOUT: From Digital Endpoints to Digital Trials to Digital Healthcare and Back

Vanja Vlajnic, Senior Manager, Statistics and Data Insights, Bayer Science Fellow, Bayer Pharmaceuticals
Laurie Halloran, President & CEO, Halloran Consulting Group Inc.
Michelle Crouthamel, PhD, Director Digital Health & Innovation, Digital Health Innovation, AbbVie, Inc.
Nikala Kwech, eCOA Operations Lead, Data Sciences, AbbVie Inc.
Angie Botto-Van Bemden, PhD, Patient Advocate, Musculoskeletal Research International
Peter Verwilst, MD, Research Physician, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
Tom Johnson, Senior Director, Life Sciences/Health IT Business Solutions, Exostar
Matthew Johnson, Vice President, Wearables & Digital Biomarkers, ERT
Tim Corbett-Clark, BA, MA, DPhil (oxon), Chief Technology Officer, Cmed Technology

Cmed Technology CTO, Dr. Tim Corbett-Clark shares his views on the current landscape within clinical trials, discussing the challenges that point and unified solutions bring. He also examines how to best optimize clinical trial data workflows by bringing the tech to data, removing the silos, and eliminating the barriers to getting holistic data for total control and visibility from phase one to four.

Amy Franzen, General Manager & Vice President, Clinical Trials Solutions, Tempus

Overview of the Clinical Trial Solutions at Tempus which support precision patient identification and recruitment for oncology clinical trials through the TIME Trial program, a rapid activation Just-in-Time network of research-experienced clinical trial sites

Bernadette Tosti, Vice President, Patient Experience, Science 37
Lindsay Singler, Director, Research Communications & Engagement, Operations Management Team, Duke Clinical Research Institute

Current events have driven pediatric clinical research to be more flexible and efficient—to increase patient access and enhance the patient experience both during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. With increased regulatory support for direct-to-family (decentralized) trials, learn how to leverage technology to safely and efficiently conduct research using a current, real-life example of trial design.

Rutendo Kashambwa, MS, Senior Clinical Analyst, Clinical Sciences, TriNetX

Watch a live demonstration of protocol design utilizing real-world data on the TriNetX platform for a phase III cardiovascular randomized controlled trial, and a subsequent label expansion.

4:40 pm Close of Day

Wednesday, March 3

BEYOND DIGITAL BIOMARKERS TOWARDS DIGITAL OUTCOMES

9:00 am

Methodological Validation of Novel Digital Endpoints

Robert J. Mather, Executive Director & Head, Advanced Science & Collaboration Group, Pfizer Inc.

Digital health technologies (DHT) are transforming how we develop new therapies and assess their impact on patients. The shift was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic as clinical teams have rushed to enable decentralized trials and improve patient monitoring. While the industry still faces significant obstacles in validation of novel digital endpoints (NDE) we are working toward a new methodological framework to validate wearable sensors and advanced analytics.

Alison Holland, Head of Decentralized Clinical Trials, Sales, Medable

To date, over a quarter of the studies in Medable's DCT portfolio include at least one connected device or wearable. Thus, we are pleased to share and discuss the best practices, case studies and approaches needed to optimally deploy Decentralized trial strategies globally. Join Alison Holland, as she uncovers the potential of sensors, wearables, and digital biomarkers under the guidance of decentralized trials.

 
9:40 am LIVE PANEL DISCUSSION:

NDE vs. Drug Label, Are We There Yet?

Panel Moderator:
Michelle Crouthamel, PhD, Director Digital Health & Innovation, Digital Health Innovation, AbbVie, Inc.

 

 

Novel digital endpoint, if used as the prespecified ranked endpoint in the registrational studies, may enhance labels and enable market access. Many pharmaceuticals are developing novel digital measures of health and disease to accelerate drug development and support product differentiation. This panel will discuss some core questions such as: what are payers looking for from the evidence perspective; what is the pharma’s perspective on novel evidence generation; what are the health outcome research implications; does regulatory environment enables post-marketing adoption digital measurements.

 

Panelists:
Jennifer Billings, PharmD, Director of Formulary Strategy, Magellan Rx Management
Lida Etemad, PharmD, Vice President, Pharmacy Programs, UnitedHealth Group R&D
Robert J. Mather, Executive Director & Head, Advanced Science & Collaboration Group, Pfizer Inc.
Jennifer Goldsack, Executive Director, Digital Medicine Society (DiMe)
Anzar Abbas, PhD, Global Head, Digital Biomarkers, AiCure
Colin Sauder, PhD, Director, Clinical Scientist, Karuna Therapeutics

Digital phenotyping holds great promise in measurement of disease severity and treatment response. In this talk, Anzar will speak to AiCure’s work deriving clinically meaningful measurements from remotely collected video and audio of patient behavior. Colin will follow, highlighting how Karuna Therapeutics will use those digital measurements to enhance their studies, demonstrating why digital biomarkers are not just promising for the future but critical to the success of clinical research today.

ENHANCING PATIENT-SITE CENTRICITY AND CLINICAL INNOVATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

10:55 am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:

COVID-19: How an External Event Redoubled Janssen’s Culture of Innovation

Darren Weston, Vice President, Integrated Data Analytics & Reporting (IDAR), Janssen

The external threat posed by the pandemic forced Janssen to reckon with longstanding cultural barriers to innovation. Faced with an urgent need to ensure patient safety and continuity of care, Janssen found a way to overcome these barriers and evolve the way they conduct clinical trials. Not only did Janssen minimize overall trial impact, but Janssen’s clinical operations have become more efficient and resilient in the face of future challenges. We will discuss the cultural and operational adaptations Janssen undertook to adapt to the pandemic environment and how we see these actions positioning us for the future.

11:20 am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Virtual Investigator Meetings During COVID-19 & Beyond
Steven Sulkin, Founder & CEO, SimuLyve International, Inc.®

Steven Sulkin, CEO, SimuLyve International

Marina Ziehn, PhD, Global Med. Affairs Dir. Neuroscience, Novartis

Markus Krüer, PhD, Head Clinical Project Mgt, Merz

Nico Wegener, PhD, Senior Clinical Project Mgr, Merz

Dave Matthews, Clinical Project Dir., Merz

 

Training worldwide staff on complicated protocols virtually with the added issue of language barriers can seem daunting. Our panel of virtual experts will show you how to perfect virtual skills and enhance virtual meetings.

 

11:20 am KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:

Option 2: New Players and Innovators in Clinical Trials, the Impact of Non-Pharma Entrants...Meet Salesforce and CVS Health

Shwen Gwee, Vice President & Head, Global Digital Strategy, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
Gary Gabriel, PhD, Healthcare and Life Sciences Lead, Salesforce
Lou Sanquini, Vice President, Life Sciences Group, CVS Health
11:45 am Tech Break, Transition to Interactive Breakout Discussions
12:00 pm Interactive Breakout Discussions - Visit Our Virtual Exhibit Hall

Join your colleagues and fellow delegates for a focused, informal discussion moderated by a member of our speaking faculty. A small group format allows participants to meet potential collaborators, share examples from their own work and discuss ideas with peers. View all topics here.


BREAKOUT: AI and Advanced Analytics to The Rescue: Latest Applications in Clinical Trials

Oriol Serra Ortiz, Head, Site Intelligence & Site Selection, Study Optimization Global Product Development, Pfizer Inc.
Vanja Vlajnic, Senior Manager, Statistics and Data Insights, Bayer Science Fellow, Bayer Pharmaceuticals
Vera Pomerantseva, Strategy Insights & Planning Manager, Quality & Risk Management, ZS Associates
Todd Johnson, MPH, MBA, Principal Consultant, Organizational Solutions, Halloran Consulting Group
Kafayat Babajide, MBA, Associate Director, Patient Portals, Janssen Research & Development, LLC
Bhargava Reddy, PhD, Director, Advanced Insights, Janssen
Jade C. Dennis, Advisor, Design Hub, Eli Lilly and Company
Joseph Yoder, Clinical Data Analyst, Data & Statistical Sciences, AbbVie, Inc.
Gian Prakash, Associate Director, Data Engineering, Information Research, AbbVie Inc.
Kelly White, Director Clinical Research, Global Trial Optimization Oncology, Merck
Jeff Kingsley, Founder & CEO, IACT Health
Peter Verwilst, MD, Research Physician, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
Dan Manak, Executive Director, Business Development, Phesi

BREAKOUT: Decentralized and Hybrid Trials: COVID-19 as an Accelerator

Jane Jacob, PhD, Vice President, Research & Clinical Affairs, Synergy Disc Replacement, Inc.
Laurie Halloran, President & CEO, Halloran Consulting Group Inc.
Matthew Moyer, Director Clinical Supply Technology, Global Clinical Supply, Merck & Co. Inc.
Vani Nilakantan, PhD, Vice President, Research, Allina Health System
Laura Whitmore, Head, Clinical Operations, Cerevel Therapeutics LLC
Nikala Kwech, eCOA Operations Lead, Data Sciences, AbbVie Inc.
Hassan Kadhim, Director & Head, Clinical Trial Business Capabilities, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
Angie Botto-Van Bemden, PhD, Patient Advocate, Musculoskeletal Research International
David Fauvart, Associate Director, Janssen Clinical Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D
Michele Teufel, Patient & Site Engagement Lead, Development Operations, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Michael Mclaughlin, Associate Director, Clinical Operations, Dermavant Sciences Inc.
Anthony Costello, President, Patient Cloud, Medidata, a Dassault Systèmes Company
Isaac Rodriguez-Chavez, Senior Vice President for Scientific and Clinical Affairs, Digital Health, PRA Health Sciences
Robert Loll, Senior Vice President, Business Development & Strategic Planning, Praxis Communications, LLC
Chris Varner, Associate Director, Virtual Trial Solutions, IQVIA
12:30 pm Session Break - Visit Our Virtual Exhibit Hall
Leon Sun, Chief Science Officer, RA,PV,MD, Beijing Highthink Technology Co., Ltd

Founded in 2006, Highthinkmed is the fastest growing clinical CRO in China with over 800 full time employees, providing one-stop clinical services including clinical operation, medical affairs, data management, biostatistics, pharmacovigilance, regulatory affairs etc. Highthinkmed owes its own eCTD system meeting requirements of FDA, EMA and NMPA with a professional team providing eCTD submission services. Highthinkmed welcomes all partners across the world for international collaboration.

Geoff Gill, President, Shimmer Americas, Shimmer Research

Different endpoints derived from wearables can require very different wearable sensors.  Unfortunately, qualifying and integrating different wearables often from different vendors can be time-consuming and uncertain.  Learn how Shimmer Research is addressing this challenge by introducing a series of wearables that are all part of its highly flexible Verisense platform.

1:15 pm Close of Sensors, Wearables and Digital Biomarkers Conference





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