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|September 14, 2026
ACT Brief: Epilepsy Trial Endpoints, Lab Orchestration and Scientific Intent, and Systems Over Point Solutions
Author(s)Andy Studna, Senior Editor
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.
This is the Applied Clinical Trials Brief—your fast track to the latest insights shaping clinical operations and drug development.
- In
part two of her interview , Amélie Lothe, global medical community head for rare epilepsies at UCB Pharma, explains why the full burden of developmental and epileptic encephalopathies extends far beyond clinical symptoms. Outcomes families actually hope for include developmental milestones, quality of life, and reduced caregiver burden, not just seizure reduction. Endpoints must reflect what families want to see change, not what's easiest to measure. - In a
new contributed article , Ryan Bernhardt examined why true lab orchestration connects scientific intent, data, and decisions across the research lifecycle, not just instruments moving samples. When experimental context becomes separated from results as information passes between systems, researchers waste 50+ days yearly stitching together disconnected data. A connected lab preserves the scientific reasoning alongside results so AI can operate on complete records rather than fragmented information. - In a
feature from Pharmaceutical Executive , Michelle Carnahan argued healthcare needs a conductor to orchestrate fragmented systems, not more point solutions that add layers of complexity. Coordination failures prevent half of specialist referrals from completing, costing the system $150 billion annually in no-shows. Adding AI or another tool without an execution layer connecting payer, provider, and clinical data just multiplies the problem.
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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