IEEE Initiative to Build Consensus on Optimizing Clinical Trials and Enhancing Patient Safety with Blockchain

The upcoming “Blockchain for Clinical Trials Forum” is the first step in bringing together key stakeholders to embrace an emerging technology for conducting improved clinical trials

PISCATAWAY, NJ, 30 January 2018 – IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA), today announced it is hosting the Blockchain for Clinical Trials Forum to be held 12 February 2018 at the Orlando Science Center, Orlando, FL. The one-day forum is the first of its kind bringing together the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), innovation leaders from the world?s largest pharmaceutical organizations, and leading blockchain developers to discuss status applications, identify challenges, and report on the progression of test studies in current use cases.

The one day event kicks off with the keynote address “An Integrated and Compliant Healthcare Ecosystem with Blockchain” from Dr. Vahan Simonyan, Lead Scientist, HIVE; R&D Director, Bioinformatics; and FDA Adjunct Professor, George Washington University. To register, please visit the event’s homepage.

Today, blockchain is emerging as a technology that can revolutionize the process of ensuring data integrity. In the position paper Blockchain Technology for Improving Clinical Research Quality, Mehdi Benchouf, one of the Forum’s expert faculty members, and Philippe Ravaud, director of the INSERM Epidemiology and Biostatistics Research Center in Paris, outline the complex flows of heterogeneous data and metadata that circulate in a clinical trial and demonstrate the numerous healthcare stakeholders and documentation that can be stored safely and securely in a blockchain.

“IEEE is the ideal protagonist in convening technologists and clinical experts to evaluate and advance viable applications of blockchain for clinical trials use cases that will lead to enhanced patient safety and innovate the drug development life cycle,” said Dr. Tim Mackey, Co-Chair of the IEEE-Standard’s Association Supply Chain/Clinical Trials Industry Connections Program. “Thus far, stakeholder interest in the initiative and the upcoming IEEE Blockchain for Clinical Trials Forum is strong, and we encourage even broader participation and input from vested healthcare and regulatory partners in order to identify pertinent issues and more viable use cases that can help us advance industry-wide adoption.”

Seating for the Forum is limited and available on a first-come basis. We encourage all interested participants to secure their registration early to guarantee their place. Visit the website for full registration details.

Note to Editors: Accredited press are invited to attend the Forum. Please note press registration is limited to five spaces. To reserve a press registration, please contact Maria Palombini, Director, Initiatives and Community Development, GBSI, IEEE SA.

To learn more about IEEE SA or about any of its many market-driven initiatives, visit us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn, or on the Beyond Standards Blog.

IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) is a collaborative organization where innovators raise the world’s standards for technology. IEEE SA provides a globally open, consensus-building environment and platform that empowers people to work together in the development of leading-edge, market-relevant technology standards, and industry solutions shaping a better, safer and sustainable world. For more information, visit https://standards-qa21.ieee.org.

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice in a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics. Learn more at https://www.ieee.org.