Throughout my time in clinical supplies, I've noticed a common theme surrounding the notion of "complexity". Regulatory measures and endpoint requirements are becoming more complex, in order to achieve these endpoints the protocols for the trials themselves are becoming more complex, and to top it all off, the internal procedures and technologies to help mitigate these complexities are only making things more difficult. In my opinion, although we are a niche industry, it is time for us, as a community, to stop using "complexity" as a crutch, and rather use it as an opportunity for innovation and enlightenment.
Typically, we could dive into where this "complexity" stems from and discuss the trial design changes, or the numerous regulatory hurdles amongst each individual nation, or even the shortage of clinical supplies professionals in the workforce. However, I think these topics have been discussed enough on LinkedIn or at countless conferences around the world. Instead, I want to create a dialogue focusing on how to stop worrying about the past, and begin to focus on enabling simplicity in the future.
Let's break down the solution into 4 main steps:
Step 1 - Understanding the problem
The clinical supplies sector has already faced and accepted the reality of "complexity". This recognition, far from being a barrier, actually highlights the critical opportunity presented by the next three steps – steps that must be taken to drive meaningful change.
Step 2 - Learning from other industries
It's a well known fact that other industries adopt innovation quicker than clinical supplies. Even within BioPharma, R+D tends to adopt new technology at alarming rates, so why can't the clinical supplies space adopt at an equal pace? After all, they need us in order to fulfill the potential of the R+D findings, no?
Looking across all "disruptive innovation" in history, the main driver is simplicity. Uber made it more simple to get from point A to point B, Amazon built their entire application around simplicity and eventually patented the "1-Click Checkout", and Apple's entire brand and UX is built on ease and simplicity (when was the last time you opened an iPhone that didn't come pre-charged?). Innovation is bred through simplicity, and the best proof is by looking no further than our everyday devices and applications.
Step 3 - A focus on accessibility and democratization
Increased simplicity breeds accessibility. As users begin to become more and more comfortable with a solution, other potential users tend to take notice and acknowledge how their lives can become more simple as well. If you look at any device, service, etc., it always began as a solution only for the rich and elites, and was eventually disrupted and democratized for the masses. The telephone's journey is a story of scaling down and spreading out. From payphones, built for communal access - then to car phones, tailored to a small group, then ultimately achieving true democratization, becoming a ubiquitous tool in everyone's pocket. As seen throughout time, the true test of "simplicity" is the rate of adoption within a given industry.
Step 4 - Iterating: trial and error with speed
Once the market begins to adopt a given technology, the key to success is "Iterate, iterate, iterate" and work with speed. Any bold solution will never be perfect, in v0.1 or v100.0, success is grown by constant iteration and striving for perfection. The quicker a technology company is able to evolve and iterate, fail and fix, the quicker an industry will be disrupted and the end-users will reap the benefits.
In order to achieve this "rapid iteration" culture which leads to simplicity, it's important to understand the steps required to get there (which can be its own blogpost). At Prognosis, we focus on the effects of two-way vs. one-way decision making coined by Jeff Bezos and leveraged at Amazon. By focusing on the importance of a decision and understanding the effects of that decision, we are able to iterate quickly and strive for perfection, which in our case is building a simple, accessible and reliable solution - scalable across all trials.