The Medical AI Podcast Episode 54: Can AI Transform Drug Development? With Dr Scott Chetham, CEO of Faro Health
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Mar 15, 2025 Dr. Scott Chetham, a clinical scientist and CEO of Faro Health, brings over 20 years of experience in clinical trials to the discussion. He dives into the costly failures of drug development, highlighting that 90% of candidates never see approval. Scott explains how AI can revolutionize this process by targeting the right data and patients, potentially saving millions and speeding up development times. He also discusses Faro's innovative platform for improving trial design and its broader implications for public health.
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Drug Trials Have Unacceptably High Failure Rates
- Clinical trials fail at an alarmingly high rate, with approval chances now near 6% and failure around 94%.
- Scott Chetham argues no other industry tolerates such catastrophic failure rates over long timelines.
AI Replaces Opinion With Data In Trial Design
- The core problem is collecting the right data from the right patients at the right time across an increasingly complex trial landscape.
- Scott sees AI as the tool to replace opinion-based, manual processes and improve trial design and efficiency.
Focus On Time-Saving Automation
- Compress trial timelines by automating repetitive high-value tasks to cut costs driven mainly by time.
- Target many small time improvements across the process to achieve large cumulative savings.