In a video interview prior to the 2026 DPHARM conference, Andrea Valente, CEO of uMotif, explains why truly understanding the patient journey from beginning to end—and building that understanding into both study design and data collection tools—remains one of the industry's most important unfinished tasks.
In a video interview prior to the 2026 DPHARM conference, Andrea Valente, CEO of uMotif, discussed the patient-site relationship, the role of technology in clinical trial delivery, and where the industry is still falling short in its push toward patient-centered models. She opened by identifying trust between patients and sites as a central theme she expected to shape conversations at DPHARM, arguing that effective education of both the participant and the site—not independently but together—is a foundational requirement for compliance, quality care delivery, and sponsor outcomes. She noted that AI may play a role in this space, though more likely through behavioral pattern analysis than through direct patient-site interaction.
On technology, Valente was candid about the challenge sites face: managing multiple systems, processing data, and maintaining participant relationships while operating with less organizational alignment than sponsors. She framed the opportunity not as making technology more powerful but as making it easier for patients and sites to interact more effectively with each other—a distinction she sees as still unresolved.
She closed by describing uMotif's approach to the patient journey as a core design input rather than an afterthought. Through workshops with sponsor partners, the company works to map that journey in detail and translate it into engagement strategies and data collection tools that create genuine value for participants—not just compliance. For Valente, the measure of success is a participant who feels they are gaining something from the experience, not just contributing to it.
