Apollo Clinical Research Conclave 2023, highlights the advancements and transformative evolutions in clinical research for driving better clinical outcomes and ensuring patient safety.

The hybrid conference witnessed 600 delegates from the research community together to share experiences and discuss topical issues

Hyderabad 06 Dec 2023 :  Apollo Research & Innovation (ARI) and Apollo Hospitals Educational & Research Foundation (AHERF) – research divisions of Apollo Hospitals Group successfully hosted the “Apollo Clinical Research Conclave”, a two-day hybrid conference on at Apollo Medical College Auditorium, Apollo Health City, Jubilee Hills Hyderabad. The one-of-its-kind Conclave saw the coming together of over 27 stakeholders from across the research community – students, academia, researchers, regulators, pharma, SMOs, CROs, KPOs, hospitals & and research coordinators – onto one common platform.

The Clinical Research Conclave saw participation from more than 600 participants (300 from industry 300 from academic institutions including students), with over 35 eminent speakers sharing their experiences. The conference saw pertinent questions being raised to address key issues in research activities essential for the enhancement of healthcare and the well-being of the community. The packed hybrid event witnessed 2 plenary sessions, 18 expert talks, three panel discussions, a poster competition, and an interactive Q&A session with each speaker.

Inaugurating the conclave, Dr. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “By Harnessing the future of technology, AI algorithms and the power of Gen AI, the human mind will be able to analyse and imbibe data outcome to help mankind. I look forward to meaningful interactions like this to bring out phenomenal ideas from different aspects of clinical research which will help for future diagnosis, interventions, and predictions to  curtail the onset of disease before it is too late. The ideas generated from this conclave will provide a road map for research with many answers to tackle the new advancements and transformative innovations and take the research to next level and offer different ways to the stakeholders when they come together for the benefit of mankind”.

The two-day event focused on the multi-faceted relationship of clinical research stakeholders and looked at bridging the academic and clinical research gap. The speakers from across the healthcare spectrum included senior representatives from Pharma companies (Sun Pharmaceuticals, Abbott, Haleon, Bharat Serums and Vaccines group, Roche, Immuneel), CRO (Parexel, Navitas Life sciences, Siro Clinpharma, THB, Dozee, HCU),  IT sector (Google, Microsoft) IT- health care sector (Quantiphi, Shodh Clinicals, Mestastop solutions) Central research and funding organizations such as (NIPER, CCMB-Hyderabad, ICMR), hospitals (Apollo Hospitals, Chettinad Hospitals, and research institute, AIIMS- New Delhi, LV Prasad Eye institute), and many more distinguished healthcare industry veterans.

The interesting plenary session on the first day by Mr. Anil Bhansali from Google on “Readiness of the Researcher to the Evolving Innovations in Research – A Global Perspective” has opened our eyes to the current scenario and how the researcher and team need to be equipped to face the new evolving trends and innovations.

This session was followed by the advancements in clinical research. It witnessed excellent topics presented on pioneering breakthroughs and transformative changes, Real World Evidence Studies, and also fostering medical advancement to unveil cutting-edge discoveries. The topics covered by the subject experts were very informative and useful to the students/CR professionals to think of new avenues for their higher education and career opportunities.

As all of us are aware AI is the most sought-after area in any field. Especially in clinical research, it plays a vital role and the sessions on AI in Clinical Research followed by the panel discussion explicitly provided a complete understanding of the various aspects of AI and how the AI-powered clinical research revolution empowers CR and healthcare progress. The power-packed panel discussion on the role of stakeholders’ perspective of AI in CR gave clarity on the Dos and Don’ts and also highlighted how AI can support and supplement but cannot replace the essential human touch.

Patient recruitment is becoming a challenge with the growing disease patterns and the evolving trends in CR and sites have to tackle the situation to ensure patient safety throughout. The presence of a site management or trial office in any healthcare setup is a great boon to ensure effective patient recruitment and ethical conduct of studies. The session on Patient Recruitment followed by the panel discussion on “Innovative strategies to overcome challenges in patient enrolment” provided a clear and explicit perspective on the stakeholder’s views and the significance of the site management office in a clinical trial site. The recommendations were collaboration, resources, training, the use of AI to ease the load, and commitment from the take holders to overcome patient enrolment challenges.