Clinical trials are notoriously slow, expensive, and inefficient, creating a major bottleneck that delays getting life-saving treatments to cancer patients. What if we could build a new research engine from the ground up, leveraging data and technology to run trials 6x faster and at a significantly lower cost? In this episode, we explore the groundbreaking work of the
Flatiron Health clinical research unit, a team that is redefining what's possible in oncology research.
Joined by
Alex Deyle, VP & General Manager of Clinical Research at Flatiron Health, we uncover the strategies and technologies they are deploying to fix the broken trial system. From their origins as a pioneer in real-world evidence to their acquisition by
Roche, Flatiron has built a unique ecosystem founded on deep integrations with community oncology EHRs. Now, they're leveraging that foundation to tackle the biggest challenges in clinical research, from protocol design to final data submission. This conversation is a must-watch for anyone interested in the future of drug development, health tech, and the mission to get new treatments to patients faster.
This episode breaks down the new model for improving clinical trial efficiency. We explore Flatiron's three-pronged approach: designing smarter protocols by using real-world evidence in clinical trials to optimize eligibility criteria, accelerating clinical trial patient recruitment with AI-powered patient matching that reduces site screening effort by 95%, and lowering the massive data collection burden with innovative EHR to EDC solutions. Alex shares incredible real-world examples, including a partnership with Exact Sciences on a molecular residual disease (MRD) study that went from concept to first patient in just six months—a process that typically takes years. We also dive into their collaboration with NRG Oncology, one of the NCI's cooperative groups, to deploy their Flatiron ClinicalPipe™ technology and prove the value of a direct data pipeline from the EHR to the trial database (EDC). This integrated approach is generating compelling results, showing that their end-to-end model can enroll studies up to six times faster and at a 20-30% lower cost than traditional methods, paving the way for a new era of decentralized clinical trials.
About Our Guest:
Alex Deyle is VP & General Manager of the Clinical Research business unit at Flatiron Health. With a background as a biomedical engineer and a health-tech consultant, Alex was inspired by the multidisciplinary, problem-solving approach of
MIT's Hacking Medicine. He joined Flatiron to be part of a team that brings together clinicians, engineers, and data scientists to solve healthcare's biggest challenges. He was instrumental in building Flatiron’s renowned real-world evidence business before leading the charge to transform clinical trials.
Timestamps:
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00:00) Introduction: Fixing Broken Clinical Trials
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01:02) What is Flatiron Health? From RWE Pioneer to Research Innovator
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04:33) The Core Challenge: Why Oncology Research is So Slow
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07:26) A New Approach to Clinical Trial Patient Recruitment
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09:52) Using Real-World Data for Protocol Optimization
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15:22) Guest Intro: Meet Alex Deyle from Flatiron Health
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19:38) The Mission: Making Trials More Efficient & Representative
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24:32) Flatiron's 3-Pronged Strategy for Transforming Clinical Research
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29:30) Case Study 1: The Exact Sciences MRD Partnership (6 Months to First Patient)
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36:25) Case Study 2: Partnering with NRG Oncology on EHR to EDC Solutions
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39:11) The Results: 6x Faster Enrollment, 30% Lower Cost
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41:08) The Biggest Challenge: Overcoming the Status Quo
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42:05) Career Advice for Health Tech Innovators
What is HealthTech Remedy?
Join three physician leaders exploring health technology innovation. We tell the stories of pioneering companies and interview industry leaders, covering critical areas transforming healthcare. Get doctor and patient perspectives on topics like prior authorization, price transparency, AI in medicine, digital health, cancer care, and more. Explore the challenges and successes at the intersection of medicine and technology.