Fortrea's Alaric Jackson Talks AI in Clinical Trials

In a recent interview with Fierce Biotech's Chris Hayden, Fortrea's Chief Technology and Data Officer Alaric Jackson discussed the growing role of AI in clinical trials.

Jackson described how AI is moving beyond its initial focus on the discovery process and is now being incorporated across the entire lifecycle of clinical trials. This includes everything from identifying assets and validating them, to protocol design, trial execution, closeout and safety reporting.

Fortrea is embedding AI and machine learning at every stage, Jackson said, to improve employee productivity and to enhance trial planning, site selection and monitoring. He also emphasized Fortrea's focus on "augmented intelligence," using AI to provide the right data at the right time to improve decision-making.

Jackson highlighted the potential of AI to improve patient outcomes, citing a Swedish study on mammograms where AI, combined with a radiologist, improved cancer detection accuracy. He also discussed the importance of using AI to get access to more diverse patient populations in clinical trials.

Ultimately, Jackson said, Fortrea's goal is to use technology to get better medicines to more patients more rapidly, while simplifying the experience for patients, sponsors and sites.