A new survey of senior global pharma executives and other clinical trial professionals finds 89 percent have a working knowledge of blockchain, a technology that can create tamper-proof records, a key component in increasing patient participation in decentralized clinical trials. By comparison, 82 percent of respondents were familiar with blockchain when polled in 2018.

The survey found 70 percent of respondents think blockchain has the potential to be transformative in the management and sharing of patient data. Despite the enthusiasm, 30 percent of respondents say lack of access to people with relevant blockchain skills is the biggest obstacle toward expanding its use, followed by concerns over a lack of standards (19 percent) and interoperability (17 percent).

Interest in artificial intelligence (AI), which is useful in data, quality and site management, was also high, with 57 percent of respondents saying they are already using AI in computational drug repurposing. But with clinical studies generating enormous amounts of data in an increasing number of formats, 38 percent of respondents worried that algorithmic bias poses a barrier to the use of AI in drug repurposing, and an additional 42 percent said such bias could potentially be a barrier.

Pistoia Alliance, a global nonprofit founded by pharmaceutical companies, surveyed 164 executives. Respondents included digital health R&D managers, senior principal scientists, clinical trial administrators, machine learning engineers, data scientists, and informatics and data science managers.

Read the survey here: http://bit.ly/2NAzbFC.