Editorial Podcasts

This episode of The Human Side of Clinical Trials, hosted by Brian S. McGowan, PhD, FACEHP, chief learning officer and co-founder of ArcheMedX, Inc., and Kelly Ritch, chief operating officer of ArcheMedX, Inc., explores why training completion metrics like attendance and quiz scores fail to capture true study readiness, and how measuring both competence and confidence can reveal trial risks before enrollment even begins.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine what families with rare epilepsy teach about trial feasibility, how preclinical CRO partnerships are evolving beyond transactional services, and why cortisol dysregulation limits GLP-1 effectiveness in diabetes.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine how shifting patient engagement to endpoint selection improves trial data quality, why execution infrastructure must precede AI deployment, and addressing missing baseline data in real-world oncology research.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine why seizure reduction misses what families want from epilepsy trials, how lab coordination requires connecting data to intent, and why healthcare needs orchestration rather than more tools.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine genuine patient partnership in trial design, how AI enables informed recruitment while preserving clinician relationships, and moving patient engagement beyond performative gestures.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine why black-box AI fails in clinical trials, how participant understanding drives engagement more than gamification, and FDA permanent leadership appointments prioritizing regulatory predictability.

In this episode of Beyond Compliance, Otis Johnson, PhD, MPA, founder and principal consultant at Vantix Operations, speaks with Joseph Geraci, PhD, co-founder and chief scientific and technical officer at NetraMark, about why explainable AI, not black-box prediction, is needed to reveal clinically meaningful patient subgroups in regulated drug development.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine how regulatory guidance and financial evidence enable RBQM adoption, why site payment performance remains a competitive differentiator, and a collaboration advancing an inhaled approach to cystic fibrosis.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine value hidden in the RBQM financial model, why rare disease research leads on genuine patient partnership, and how safety concerns shape IBD treatment decisions despite clinical efficacy.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine why many trial failures trace to human readiness gaps rather than process design alone, how CRO consolidation expands early-phase capacity, and how AI-enabled patient matching is reshaping recruitment economics.

This pilot episode of The Human Side of Clinical Trials introduces a framework from Brian S. McGowan, PhD, FACEHP, chief learning officer and co-founder of ArcheMedX, Inc., exploring why operational failures in clinical trials often trace back to gaps in human readiness rather than process design alone.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine how eNPV modeling and real-world data finally put numbers on RBQM value, why static budgeting masks true site costs, and GSK advancing an mRNA flu vaccine candidate to late-stage testing.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine why operating model redesign must precede agentic AI deployment, how integrated platforms compress operations toward accountable teams, and BioNTech's decision to terminate a colorectal cancer mRNA trial.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine why 80% of sites operate on minimal cash reserves, how biomarker-informed enrollment risks excluding viable patient populations, and the growing role of predictive maintenance in preventing batch losses.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine how unpredictable payments damage site retention, why rapid AI deployment without validation creates regulatory risk, and China's growing dominance in early-stage drug discovery.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine where agentic AI delivers immediate wins in site payments, how botanical therapies can earn pharmaceutical credibility, and the connected financial systems reshaping trial operations.

In this episode of Beyond Compliance, Otis Johnson, PhD, MPA, founder and principal consultant at Vantix Operations, speaks with Joel Stanley, CEO of AJNA BioSciences, about why botanical therapies need pharmaceutical-grade standardization and clinical evidence to earn physician trust and insurance coverage.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine why payment inconsistency persists despite industry awareness, why inspection readiness must be built throughout execution not assembled at submission, and FDA approval of the first disease-specific treatment for a rare blood disorder.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine how payment reliability has become a competitive differentiator at high-performing sites, what a truly strategic lean development model looks like, and a licensing deal for a next-generation obesity therapy combining Phase I data with preclinical validation.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine why AI architecture and ownership matter more than model sophistication in clinical development, how the FDA proposes to regulate generative AI-enabled medical devices, and a new leadership appointment at the agency

In today's ACT Brief, we examine which Phase I administrative processes are most ripe for AI automation, how sponsors should balance investor demands for real-time data against scientific rigor in capital-constrained trials, and a major CRO's expanded artificial intelligence partnerships.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine what actually drives the 6- to 12-month timeline reductions envisioned under Operation TrialBlazer, why trial modernization requires structural changes in sponsor-site collaboration, and a major biosimilars commercialization partnership.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine the standardization gap that sits between raw data collection and real-time analysis, why regulatory unpredictability is pushing US biotechs to run early trials overseas, and FDA accelerated approval of a new immunomodulatory therapy.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine why data quality is the ceiling for all other trial modernization efforts, how CRAs are shifting from compliance monitors to data-enabled partners, and recognition of five rising industry leaders shaping pharma innovation.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine why protocol training completion doesn't ensure site execution readiness, how AI clinical monitoring drives measurable financial returns, and structural compliance failures behind rising FDA warning letters.

In this episode of Beyond Compliance, Otis Johnson, PhD, MPA, founder and principal consultant at Vantix Operations, speaks with Joseph Kim, Chief Strategy Officer at ProofPilot, and Lauren Briggs, Chief Customer Officer at ProofPilot, about why completing training is not the same as being prepared to execute a protocol.

In today's ACT Brief, we examine new strategies for breaking efficacy plateaus in IBD through combination approaches, why clinical research teams lose talent at the early-career stage, and how FDA's Priority Review Voucher program is reshaping rare disease capital flows.

AbbVie’s head of immunology clinical development, Kori Wallace, MD, PhD, discusses how combination therapies, translational science, and emerging immune-reset approaches could usher in a new era of treatment for inflammatory bowel disease and other autoimmune conditions.