UCB launches digital health roundtable series

At UCB, we see the many benefits of integrating technology in all aspects of our business to amplify the power of scientific innovation and to improve patient care.

There are many diverse ways in which technology can be utilized for the benefit of patients, and in March of this year we kicked off a digital health roundtable series to explore some of the key topics.

The first roundtable focused on how we can better leverage patient-generated health data for digital phenotyping and biomarker development in research and development. The expert speaker panel included: Erin Rainaldi, MS (Head of Sensors Data Science, Verily), Jennifer Goldsack, MChem, MA, MBA, OLY (Chief Executive Officer, Digital Medicine Society (DiME)), Lorene Nelson, PhD, MS (Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University), and Dr. Francesca Rinaldo, MD, PhD (SVP, Clinical Product and Innovation Sharecare).
 

In previous decades patients have often shared their personal information with healthcare providers through anecdotes, pictures, letters, text messages, emails, and family meetings. These days, patients can generate and potentially share similar data about their behaviors which are indicative of their health through wearables, smart speakers, voice assistants, and domotics like smart thermostats, home appliances, and security cameras.

Many might have heard of the idea of “digital exhaust” or “digital footprint”, which is the idea that we all generate data in our daily lives (whether or not we are aware of it) and this data can provide meaningful information about individuals and their health.

There’s no question that our data says a lot about us. There’s no question that this data has true scientific value. What is in question is the practical application of this process. Many researchers are wondering how to unlock the full potential of these digital datasets. 

This discussion explored how we can use sensor data at the intersection of certain clinical features to develop digital biomarkers of disease which can drive decisions around research and development and eventually inform more personalized patient care.

In speaking about the application of digital biomarkers beyond the context of an efficacy endpoint in a clinical trial, Jen Goldsack stated: “What I do think there’s the ability to do is to start to deeply understand not just sickness, but health, using these measures. We can really start to define, out in the wild, what good health looks like and what potential digital phenotypes are that flag you as potentially being at risk or someone who could benefit from early intervention so that we can eventually imagine what good healthcare looks like.” 

Watch the roundtable to find out more: click here