If your team tackles sample management and/or biomarker operations, don’t miss this year’s SCOPE (Summit for Clinical Operations Executives) conference in Orlando! QuartzBio will be presenting
“From Site to Result: Real-Time Sample Intelligence Unlocked with GenAI” 12:35 PM, Tuesday, February 4, Modernizing Lab, Biomarker & Data Management Operations track
We’ll demonstrate how you can use QuartzBio’s AI-enabled platform to ask questions, get answers, and gain insights across the entire precision medicine data ecosystem, with real-time sample intelligence from point of collection to data generation.
Want to explore our sample intelligence solution in person?
“Harnessing Insights Across Clinical Trials with the Power of Conversation” — a presentation by Tobi Guennel, Ph.D., head of product development and innovation at QuartzBio
Watch the recording of the presentation:
Summary:
Discussions were lively at the “Digitization of Clinical Development & Clinical Trials” symposium at last week’s Bio-IT World conference.
Addressing an audience of biotech and pharma IT and data leaders, QuartzBio’s Tobi Guennel gave a provocative presentation on how deploying generative AI can amplify the ability of precision medicine approaches to accelerate drug development.
“It’s great to have a clinical trials-focused session at Bio-IT World, and being able to share success stories, especially about AI, in this landscape,” said Guennel. “We are firm believers that iteration and collaboration can only improve technology and create new paths for innovation.”
Guennel’s narrative centered around QuartzBio’s Biomarker Intelligence Platform, powered by AI, which allows precision medicine development teams to extract the most value from clinical trial samples and exploratory biomarker data.
“One benefit of natural language understanding capabilities of conversational AI is that a broad range of user personas, with diverse roles and functions, can interact with and extract insights from a unified, singular data ecosystem of sample and biomarker data.
Teams such as data science, translational research, and biosample or biomarker operations can now interrogate a unified data asset using natural language.”
Considerations for developing a large language model (LLM) ecosystem for precision medicine
To build a solid GAI framework to enable our sample and biomarker intelligence products, the QuartzBio team asked themselves:
What LLMs are needed to support our domain and the tasks performed through the components of our products?
How can we integrate these models into a scalable GAI workflow to support user stories and workflows without having to re-invent the wheel as we move from use case to use case?
QuartzBio’s Biomarker Intelligence Platform, powered by AI: An ecosystem of domain- and task-specific small LLMs trained by fine-tuning existing foundational models (FMs). LLMs support the data management layer of the platform, the business intelligence layer to support conversational and prescriptive AI insights, and the overarching navigational AI component to enhance user experience and adoption.
Considerations for developing individual LLMs:
LLM Development
Leverage existing Foundational Models: Start with existing powerful language models that are right-sized.
Fine-Tuning: Customize these models for specific domains and tasks.
Small LLMs: Create smaller, specialized models for targeted applications for improved cost/accuracy.
GAI Integration
Prompt Engineering: Design tailored prompts to guide LLM behavior based on supported tasks.
Leverage RAG: Combine LLMs with retrieval mechanisms for enhanced performance.
User Agents: Implement user-specific agents to optimize model interactions and leverage live data.
Benefits
Precision: Fine-tuned LLMs provide accurate and context-aware responses for specific tasks.
Supporting the entire precision medicine lifecycle
QuartzBio is integrating this GAI framework seamlessly into its Biomarker Intelligence platform to support a broad range of user stories and flows with a suite of SaaS products.
Sponsors are using the platform and products to build an interconnected data asset and, subsequently, draw insights via QuartzBio’s Biomarker Intelligence tools powered by conversational AI.
Sponsors leverage the platform as a force multiplier by creating internal efficiencies. Their teams are free to focus on insight generation rather than data wrangling.
Further, the QuartzBio platform amplifies knowledge by centralizing information and insights and making these easily consumable by a wide range of stakeholders. Ultimately, this increased access to intelligence enables sponsor teams to advance Precision Medicine objectives, such as accelerating patient selection strategies, identifying drug targets, and driving clinical trial efficiency.
Learn more: Watch a demo of QuartzBio’s AI-powered platform
Join the next webinar demonstration of our platform by signing up on our Webinars & Events page! We’ll invite you to our next webinar, and meanwhile you can watch one of our recent demos on demand.
https://www.quartz.bio/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/QB_BIOIT_PRES_Tobi_Followup_04242024.jpg10801080Chandreyee Das/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/quartz-bio.svgChandreyee Das2024-04-23 15:30:242024-10-02 14:53:27AI-Enabled Biomarker Intelligence — QuartzBio at Bio-IT World 2024
Key Takeaways from SCOPE Summit for Clinical Operations Executives 2024
Tobi Guennel, PhD, QuartzBio’s Senior Vice President of Product & Chief Architect, energized the Biomarkers & Precision Medicine track at SCOPE 2024 by showing how generative AI can address challenges faced biospecimen and biomarker operations teams, as well as clinical and translational teams, when gathering insights on samples across all parts of a complex biomarker data ecosystem.
Sponsor teams need faster answers from disconnected data streams.
Sponsor teams want more clarity. The current chaotic state of biospecimen management hinders speedy decision-making. Because of the influx of specimen (and their associated data) coming from hundreds of varied locations (in just as many varied formats), teams can feel overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information to manage.
“What’s the status of today’s shipments?” “Where is this sample’s location?” “How is Site 53’s sample collection performance?” “What’s the current turnaround time for genetic testing?”
How is the current system holding businesses back?
Quality data is the foundation of precision medicine but most of this critical data is siloed, inconsistent, and inaccessible. In fact, half of all translational scientists in our industry struggle to access the insights they need to complete their work effectively. Further, many of these scientists report only 60% confidence in the accuracy of this data when manual data entry is considered, and the revenue loss due to data ecosystem challenges is over $31B annually. But, for the companies who can overcome these data and technology ecosystem challenges, the reward is great: these companies are 23x more likely to be profitable than those who cannot.
Generative AI overcomes data challenges
As discussed at the SCOPE Day 1 plenary panel on generative AI, there is now broad awareness of the potential for AI to accelerate drug development. Specifically, we heard how AI is already enabling universal data structuring, harnessing large language models to tackle clinical research tasks, and integrating multimodal data.
Generative AI empowers drug development teams to overcome data and technology ecosystem challenges because it can automate data management tasks and break down data silos, helping businesses gain a holistic view of their operations, and free teams to make more informed decisions, faster. Instead of requiring an extensive understanding of coding and statistical modeling, generative AI now allows users to ask requests in plain language. Ask a question, get an answer.
Generative AI applied to both data management AND business intelligence drives precision medicine at scale
With the AI-enabled Biomarker Intelligence Platform, QuartzBio is giving sponsors a smart and scalable platform for deploying generative AI to enhance decision-making throughout the precision medicine R&D lifecycle. This platform is built on a foundation of high-quality data, because insights mean nothing if you don’t first ensure quality data. QuartzBio’s AI-powered data management tools are tailor-made to streamline data ingestion, QC, and mapping for drug development workflows, helping to improve data quality and reduce errors by leveraging automation to surface data issues to stakeholders.
Layered on these data management tools, the platform contains a suite of business intelligence tools that we call biomarker intelligence tools because they were purpose-built to address the challenges in biomarker-guided drug development. These tools are designed by subject matter experts to improve business agility through data exploration, dashboards, analytics, and reporting.
QuartzBio Biomarker Intelligence Platform
Leveraging AI across the platform makes our data management and business intelligence tools smarter, easier to use and more efficient to configure. To create a true force amplifier and decision accelerator, we’ve built our AI-powered Virtual Assistant. This assistant transforms the way users interact with our platform to shorten the time from having a question to receiving easily consumable information. The Virtual Assistant is your personal guide through our Biomarker Intelligence Platform, allowing you to quickly navigate to the right tool and streamline your data management and business intelligence.
https://www.quartz.bio/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tell-me-what-I-dont-know-SCOPE-2024.png619619QuartzBio Team/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/quartz-bio.svgQuartzBio Team2024-02-12 16:41:492024-10-28 15:08:43Tell me what I don’t know: AI-enhanced decisions in biomarker-informed trials
February 11-14, 2024 | Orlando, FL, USA
Curious if an AI-enabled solution is right for your clinical sample management? At this year’s SCOPE (Summit for Clinical Operations Executives) conference we’ll be presenting:
“Tell me what I don’t know: AI-enhanced decisions in biomarker-informed trials” 12:20 PM, Monday February 12, Operationalizing Biomarker & Precision Medicine Trials track
where you’ll learn about deploying generative AI in drug development.
We’ll demonstrate how conversational AI empowers users to extract insights from sample and biomarker information. Additionally, we’ll discuss how predictive features of GAI may enable novel insights by proactively surfacing information instead of passively waiting for input.
Talk to your data to get fast answers across the entire sample lifecycle
Duration: 30 minutes
Sign up to watch the webinar on demand:
What you’ll learn:
Every day, you are pressed to make decisions based on chaotic, disconnected flows of biospecimen status and consent information.
Learn how conversational AI enables you to talk to your biospecimen data. Ask a question, get an answer, and begin your journey from chaos to insight across the entire biospecimen lifecycle.
Join Bill Hall for a demo of our virtual Sample Inventory Management solution, powered by an AI-enabled Biomarker Intelligence Platform and intuitive Virtual Assistant:
Access, interrogate, and conversationally derive valuable insights from sample data across clinical trials
Proactively surface discrepancies and act on trends as they emerge
Gain insights into vendor and site performance
Get answers in seconds on status of sample shipments, testing, stability and expiration
Bill will be chatting with the QuartzBio Virtual Assistant, the intuitive new guide to the QuartzBio platform!
https://www.quartz.bio/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/QuartzBio-Taming-Sample-Chaos-Webinar-Featured-Image.png559559QuartzBio Team/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/quartz-bio.svgQuartzBio Team2023-12-22 15:32:202024-12-13 10:20:08Webinar On Demand: Taming clinical sample chaos with conversational AI
QuartzBio’s team has deep experience in technology-enabled solutions for the life science industry. In this blog series, we invited you to get to know a member of the QuartzBio team.
This month, we are delighted to talk with Katie Berola, Director of virtual Sample Inventory Management. After learning about Katie here, please feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn.
In your own words, what do you do? I build tools that take a process that is necessary and time-consuming and make it better and faster.
Subjects in clinical trials are volunteers. Some patients consent without knowing if the treatment will help them. Others consent knowing the treatment will likely not help them, but they volunteer anyway. At the end of the trial, the samples and the data are all that is left. Building tools to take all that knowledge gained, even in failure, and make it useful for the future is a part of respecting the patients’ sacrifice. For some patients, that sacrifice can be precious hours in the last weeks and months of their lives.
I am passionate about data quality, making research better, and helping patients have better outcomes.
What is your fondest memory of working at QuartzBio? My fondest memory was when I came to this company and realized they encourage innovation and creativity.
The priority to deliver our clients’ expectations is high, but equally high is the expectation to continuously improve and develop our tools. It is inspirational to know that if improvement is possible, I will be encouraged to pursue that improvement even if a different method already exists.
Complete this sentence: QuartzBio is _________ because _________. QuartzBio is cutting-edge because we do not stop creating solutions. The team here faces new challenges frequently and strives to solve them.
Complete this sentence: QuartzBio customers are _________ because _________. QuartzBio customers are an opportunity to enhance or expand our tools because there are always new challenges and different needs. Some of the best product features we have developed originated from QuartzBio customers, and those features have then been used to benefit all customers.
What piece of art – book, movie, music, artwork, etc. – inspired you the most and why? It was very hard to choose as I am inspired by many things!
My favorite example is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Taking what is one of the best fantasy stories ever written and blending artistry and technology to bring it to life is truly amazing. It’s a beautiful combination of human creativity and scientific advancement.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given? There are ten solutions to every problem. The first solution, while functional, may not be elegant. It is our responsibility to keep working to find the other nine solutions to achieve both functionality and elegance.
Dr. Yanak is known in the Biospecimen and Biomarker Operations field for her transformative work in translating scientific strategy into clinical operations, via technology and innovation, across both biopharma and central labs. Her efforts have succeeded in drawing attention to biospecimens, which are central to diagnosis and treatment.
However, as she points out in this article, transparency in biospecimen chain of custody is frequently lacking, with responsibilities split among multiple organizations, leading to unclear processes, extended timelines, and inefficiencies.
Dr. Yanak’s article highlighted both challenges of current processes and specific ways to improve biospecimen management:
Challenges Present in Traditional Biospecimen Operations:
Roles and responsibilities among various teams, both internal and external, are often unclear.
Lack of transparency in biospecimen chain of custody contributes to extended clinical trial timelines.
Manual tracking using Excel spreadsheets is common, leading to inefficiencies and potential errors.
Improving Biospecimen Management:
There is a need for Quality Management System (QMS)-level specimen management processes.
https://www.quartz.bio/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/QB_Brenda-Yanak_Spotlight_11282023_V2.jpg12001200QuartzBio Team/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/quartz-bio.svgQuartzBio Team2023-11-29 22:00:212024-08-08 13:08:45Spotlight on Specimens: Innovations in Biospecimen Management May Transform Precision Medicine
QuartzBio’s team has deep experience in technology-enabled solutions for the life science industry. In this blog series, we invited you to get to know a member of the QuartzBio team.
In your own words, what do you do? Modern drug development is a collaborative process involving a multitude of stakeholders – from scientists and researchers to data analysts and regulatory professionals. My team’s role is to foster and maintain strong, trust-based relationships between our company and our clients while also encouraging collaboration among all those various teams. In essence, we’re the glue that binds these elements together and ensures that the exchange of knowledge, expertise, and data flows seamlessly.
As the Director of Customer Success, my mission is crystal clear: to empower our clients with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to thrive in an increasingly data-driven world. This role is at the intersection of technology and human connection, bridging the gap between innovation and its real-world impact. My team and I provide solutions to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies accelerate the development of new treatments for the patients that need them. We encourage our customers to think differently about the way they currently approach sample and biomarker data management.
One of the most exciting aspects of my work is the opportunity to guide our clients through the dynamic and ever-evolving realm of data management. We work hand in hand with pharmaceutical companies to design custom solutions that align perfectly with their needs. This journey involves identifying challenges, setting clear objectives, and creating a roadmap to success.
What is your fondest memory of working at QuartzBio? I was fortunate enough to be part of an amazing milestone for QuartzBio: our inaugural User Summit in November 2022. The Summit was a testament to the strength of community, shared vision, and commitment to the advancement of clinical biomarker sample and data operations management.
The challenges in the industry are manifold, and we wanted to hear directly from our clients to understand their unique perspectives. As Clinical Biomarker Sample and Data Operations Managers, they are the unsung heroes navigating a complex ecosystem. Common industry challenges echoed loudly, and the Summit included discussions around data integration, data quality, and the need for more efficient and scalable solutions.
The discussion at the Summit validated the need for a reliable partner to alleviate these burdens. It provided a platform for our clients to voice their current challenges, but more importantly, it served as a catalyst for solutions. The main takeaways from our clients were both inspiring and invigorating. The clear message I took away from our time together was that our products are pivotal in lessening the manual labor that often leads to resource burnout and attrition. By providing the right tools to do their jobs, we’re contributing to a healthier, more sustainable work environment. We empower our clients to define success within their organizations by providing data that contributes directly to the creation of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This alignment between our technology and their vision is a driving force behind their success. The resonance between our company culture and our clients is a testament to the mutual commitment to progress and innovation.
We’re not just partners; we’re collaborators in a shared journey. Our clients value us for our efficiency and flexibility. In an industry marked by constant change, these attributes ensure our solutions evolve with them.
I couldn’t help but be excited about the future. After attending that event and talking with our clients, I knew I made the right choice to join the QuartzBio leadership team.
Complete this sentence: QuartzBio is _________ because _________. QuartzBio is pioneering because of our innovative and groundbreaking role in the field of biomarker data platforms.
Describing QuartzBio as ‘pioneering’ captures the company’s commitment to both push the boundaries of what is possible and lead the way in a field that is critical for the future of healthcare and clinical research.
Complete this sentence: QuartzBio customers are _________ because _________. QuartzBio customers are resilient and creative because they are caring and innovative.
What piece of art – book, movie, music, artwork, etc. – inspired you the most and why? Living in Atlanta, Georgia for more than 10 years has given me insights and fresh perspectives to a melting pot of creativity. I spent much of my time during the pandemic quarantined in the north-end of the city where violent riots, looting, and vandalism destroyed most of the shops in the area. In one shop, though, there was a sculpture of a silver woman standing resilient and untouched. This metal composite figure turned out to be the work of Martin Dawe, a sculptor famous to local Atlantans for his giant historical pieces around the city such as the World Athletes Monument and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. monument.
The silver woman, also known as ‘Repose’, inspired me and is in my home today. She is a testament of strength and grace, and a reminder to me to be unwavering in how I show up in the world every day.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given? “Every day for the rest of your life you will find yourself at one of three phases: aspiration, success, failure. You will battle ego in each of them. You will make mistakes in each of them. You must sweep the floor every minute of every day. And then sweep again.” – Ryan Holiday
My interpretation: The work to improve never stops. You can sweep your floors and yet they are dirty again tomorrow. Effort isn’t a one-time thing. You must commit to yourself and others each day, over and over again.
https://www.quartz.bio/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/QB_Meet-Cait-Cook_10202023_V1.png12001200QuartzBio Team/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/quartz-bio.svgQuartzBio Team2023-11-02 15:31:542023-11-02 15:31:54Meet a QuartzBio Employee: Caitlin Cook
Duration: 30 minutes
Register to Join the Webinar:
Summary:
“Sample tracking and reconciliation are so much easier when all information around sample status, consent, and location are in one place.”
–Director of Biomarker Operations, QuartzBio Client Company N
Watch our webinar to learn how our clients, representing major biopharmas and biotechnology companies, have eliminated tedious data management processes and costly delays with the QuartzBio® virtual Sample Inventory Management SaaS solution.
QuartzBio’s Adam Brown, PhD, demonstrates new capabilities of our technology, enabling teams to:
Track samples across every stage of their lifecycle with dynamic reports comparing actual and expected sample status
Proactively monitor sample stability and consent expiration with automated notifications
Quickly and accurately identify samples to ship for testing using intuitive Sample Ship List generator
Report on portfolio-level metrics and vendor and site performance across all clinical programs, including closed and active studies, to inform future planning
Adam also shows QuartzBio’s reimagined user interface*, which empowers teams to gain insights efficiently without requiring data expertise. Whether you are a current user or learning about the technology for the first time, you will learn new ways to immediately begin streamlining your work.
*Current QuartzBio Users: Questions about when you can expect rollout of the new user interface for your account? Contact us!
https://www.quartz.bio/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/QuartzBio-Digitizing-Biomarker-Operations-webinar-June-2023.png12021200QuartzBio Team/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/quartz-bio.svgQuartzBio Team2023-05-31 16:46:002024-08-23 16:23:58Webinar On Demand: Digitizing Biomarker Operations–Tools to Track & Report Sample, Consent, Vendor, & Site KPIs Across Programs
AI/ML can be a powerful, error-reducing tool for managing clinical sample data as well as biomarker data.
AI/ML-based tools should not replace human judgment, particularly for insight generation, at least until AI/ML-based tools are extensively and rigorously validated (as any piece of critical software would be). Furthermore, regulatory compliance and data privacy are of utmost importance and must be considered when building and using solutions that leverage generative AI frameworks.
However, near-term applications of AI/ML can dramatically improve any tedious process involving a human inspecting data. We list some of these processes in the box below, along with steps we recommend taking to reduce risk in each case.
https://www.quartz.bio/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/AI-ML-processes-in-drug-development-by-QuartzBio-202305.jpg12001200QuartzBio Team/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/quartz-bio.svgQuartzBio Team2023-05-25 19:28:412023-05-25 19:28:41Unleashing Innovative, AI/ML-Based Processes While Reducing Risks for Drug Development
