In today's ACT Brief, we examine how AI enables sponsors to pressure-test protocols before enrollment, HHS's multi-initiative effort to accelerate trial design and execution, and FDA approval expanding heart disease therapy to adolescents.
News|Podcasts|February 17, 2026
ACT Brief: AI Moves Into Implementation, Digital Measurement Adoption Accelerates, and Global Trial Competition Intensifies
Author(s)Andy Studna, Senior Editor
In today’s ACT Brief, we examine how AI is shifting from pilot programs into daily development workflows, how a new adoption platform is helping sponsors integrate digital measurement tools, and how global competition and data-driven site selection are reshaping clinical trial activity.
This is the Applied Clinical Trials Brief—your fast track to the latest insights shaping clinical operations and drug development.
- In a video
interview with ACT, Angela Zubel of Debiopharm said 2026 is shaping up to be an implementation year as companies move beyond pilot programs and begin embedding AI and digital tools into routine drug development workflows. She noted that solutions once confined to experimentation are increasingly becoming part of daily operations across clinical development. Zubel added that broader deployment will mark a shift from testing AI’s potential to relying on it in execution. - The Digital Medicine Society has
launched the sDHT Adoption Navigator, a centralized platform designed to help sponsors integrate sensor-based digital health technologies into clinical trials. Developed with FDA funding, the resource consolidates regulatory guidance, validation standards, and implementation best practices into a single location. The platform also includes an AI-enabled research assistant to help teams identify relevant regulatory and scientific materials more efficiently. - In a new Pharm Exec
Q&A , Phesi CEO Gen Li said oncology remains the most studied area globally, while competition for investigator sites continues to intensify. He noted that data-driven site selection is helping sponsors identify high-performing but underutilized locations beyond the most established research centers. Li added that China is emerging as the fastest-growing clinical trial market, reflecting ongoing expansion in global development capacity.
That’s all for today’s ACT Brief. Join us tomorrow for more updates shaping clinical operations and drug development. Thanks for listening.
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