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A partnered perspective on the 2025 Medidata NEXT conference

The 2025 Medidata NEXT conference was hosted in London in March. The annual Medidata NEXT conference is an opportunity for users of Medidata, the industry’s leading clinical trial SaaS provider, to meet and discuss the industry, its trajectory, and how technology is evolving to support the ever-increasing complexity of clinical trials.

This year, ICON was a proud sponsor of the event. We hosted a booth and used it as an opportunity to spread the word about our implementation of Medidata's Clinical Data Studio as ICON’s primary data review platform. In addition, ICON had the opportunity to speak and present, showcasing our role in leading the shift towards clinical data science and using innovation in our drive towards ever more efficient execution of trials.

Dedicated Clinical Data Studio: An elevated approach

The event kicked off with a keynote that covered the patient experience, the system experience and the data experience. As part of this keynote, Luke Gregory, Senior Director, Clinical Systems, joined Wayne Walker, SVP of Product at Medidata, on stage to discuss ICON’s leading role in moving from a data management group to a harmonised clinical data science unit, bringing traditional DM and central monitoring into a single team. 

Together we explored how ICON implemented an elevated approach to process that prioritises flexible strategy. As part of this approach, we have embedded clinical risk management into our processes and are consolidating into a single technology to enhance efficiencies and accelerate clinical discovery across diverse cross-functional teams. This single technology approach takes the form of integrating Medidata’s Clinical Data Studio, which enables an optimised data science approach including:

  • Ingestion of data from disparate sources
  • Managing transformation of data to an SDTM like standard that supports standardisation and reusability
  • Out of the box KRIs and stats models to support risk based and exploratory review
  • AI to support automated triangular review
  • Creating a system for a RACT model and its mitigation strategies to sit alongside one another
  • A system for the standardisation of data validation outputs, expediting setup time

Leading data quality discussions

Beyond the keynote, breakout sessions revolved around topics of data innovation, insights and integrity. ICON’s Luke Gregory contributed his expertise on a roundtable discussion on the topic of ‘How to achieve comprehensive clinical data quality across ALL functions.’ As well as using a single data review platform, AI was an inevitable discussion point. Interestingly, there was an emphasis on simpler approaches that focus on collecting the right data – reflecting the industry shift from quantity of data back to quality. 

Discussions on data collection at sites and electronic health record (EHR) integration were raised. EHR integration is the concept of getting data entered by sites into their own EHR systems to flow into EDC without manual transcription. This is a great example of where the industry is still driving innovation toward solutions. The solutions available on the market still present challenges. For example, there is still discussion around how the multiple EHR systems used by sites can be standardised, how unstructured data (such as AE data) can best flow, the cost of integration technologies and how well they truly support data quality (i.e., if entered incorrectly into the EHR, it will be integrated with incorrect data and how is this then identified).

Discussions at the booth

In addition to the keynote and roundtables, ICON had a lot of engagement at the booth. Richard Moore and Mia Christopher, managers in our Clinical Data Science Systems, connected with attendees and shared about ICON’s data offerings. This was a key opportunity to share in the excitement around the new integration of the Clinical Data Studio, the culmination of more than 20 years of partnership with Medidata that allows us to merge information from both Medidata and non-Medidata sources, fast-tracking decision making, and enabling AI-based risk assessment strategies for sites and sponsors. We also got to expand on Rave Safety Gateway and Rave eCOA, in addition to ICON’s proprietary offerings that together allow ICON to deliver faster and higher quality trials for our sponsor partners.

From fireside to future: Industry-leading innovation

The NEXT conference finished with a fireside chat with Sir Chris Hoy, six-time Olympian, who discussed his patient journey. Diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, Sir Hoy shared an engaging discussion, reminding us that patients are always at the heart of what we do and the reason for driving innovation. For all the hype around AI and systems, this technology exists to expedite clinical trials and get drugs to market faster for patients who rely on these novel medications to extend their lives. 

ICON’s long-term relationship with Medidata continues to prove fruitful, delivering the innovations and insights to push progress in the clinical research industry and evolving into new levels of partnership. Medidata has supported ICON in more than 1,700 studies, with over 400 active studies in therapeutic areas including oncology, central nervous system, vaccine therapies, and more. ICON was the first large clinical research organisation to go through Medidata’s accreditation program in 2025, enabling our full integration and deeper capabilities together. 

We look forward to attending future Medidata NEXT conferences in New York and London in 2026 as we embark on our journey with Clinical Data Studio. 

Connect with us to learn more about the Clinical Data Studio and how we can leverage the benefits for your clinical trial. 

Author:

Luke Gregory

Senior Director, Clinical Systems

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