An early childhood fascination with the natural world led Cesar de la Fuente into the fields of microbiology and immunology. A PhD from the University of British Columbia – and postdoc work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology – helped him combine computer science principles with biological processes. As the leader of a machine biology group and lab at the University of Pennsylvania, de la Fuente is working to develop new antibiotics to treat deadly bacterial infections.

Increases in remote patient monitoring and decentralized clinical trials – accelerated by COVID-19 – have added complexity to data management systems. Traditional platforms and electronic data capture used by drug development sponsors are ineffectual tools for integrating new primary data sources, or managing remote patient monitoring, Raj Indupuri, CEO at eClinical Solutions told In Vivo. 

COVID-19 has pushed the entire health care system to adopt new technologies and new solutions for conducting clinical research and delivering care to patients. An expert panel hosted by the Galien Foundation provided a meditation on what the biopharma industry has learned so far, and how to use the urgency created by COVID-19 to lock-in technological acceleration while maintaining what FDA’s Amy Abernethy called  “responsible progress.”