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 27, 2026
ACT Brief: Sites Advance AI Adoption, Cross-Functional Alignment Moves Earlier, and Phase I Strategy Evolves
Author(s)Andy Studna, Senior Editor
In today’s ACT Brief, we explore how sites are taking the lead on AI adoption to strengthen feasibility and enrollment, why earlier cross-functional alignment is critical in data-driven trials, and how Phase I strategy is shifting toward quantitative evidence generation.
This is the Applied Clinical Trials Brief—your fast track to the latest insights shaping clinical operations and drug development.
- At SCOPE 2026, new
insights from Inato’s Liz Beatty highlight how research sites are actively driving AI adoption rather than waiting on sponsors. Site leaders are using AI to accelerate feasibility and generate more precise enrollment projections, while also improving patient matching and reducing screen failures—strengthening both performance and sponsor trust. - In part four of a recent ACT
interview , Jonathan Andrus, co-CEO of CRIO, emphasized that cross-functional collaboration must begin earlier as trials become more data-driven. Aligning clinical operations, data management, and technology teams during protocol design—while incorporating site input—can help prevent downstream inefficiencies and improve data quality from the outset. - Elsewhere, in an
interview with BioPharm International, Ben Edwards of Avance Clinical explained that Phase I development is increasingly expected to generate quantitative exposure–response evidence. This shift is raising the importance of specialist CRO partnerships that can deliver robust PK and PD data quickly, helping sponsors avoid costly redesigns and better position early programs for Phase II.
That’s all for today’s ACT Brief. Join us next week for more updates shaping clinical operations and drug development. Thanks for listening.
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