Patients, Pipeline & Promise: Software-Enhanced Drugs

Anthony Costello, CEO of Medidata, has championed technology in clinical trials for nearly 30 years. In various leadership roles, from entrepreneur to corporate c-suite, he has accelerated life-changing treatments and revolutionized patient, site, and sponsor experiences. Anthony has been pivotal in developing technologies such as decentralized trials, pioneering the use of data solutions and advanced analytics to empower patients via experience-led platforms.

Anthony’s leadership across the Medidata organization spans key strategic planning, critical sales initiatives, and groundbreaking new products including the my Medidata patient portal, patient registries, telehealth & virtual visits, Sensor Cloud, and Health Record Connect. Anthony is also a champion for the award-winning Medidata Diversity Program, the industry’s most comprehensive solution to diverse studies.

Anthony’s contributions have earned Medidata an exclusive “Star Performer” designation in Everest Group’s “Decentralized Clinical Trial Platforms PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2023” and he was named Pharma Voice’s Top 100 Most Inspiring People in Clinical Research.

David Benshoof Klein is a healthcare innovator and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the life science industry and a passion for developing novel patient-centric treatments.

In 2012, David recognized the enormous impact of smartphones on behavior and cognition. Driven by the opportunity to leverage software to improve clinical outcomes and bridge gaps in treatment access, he began a journey to develop innovative app-based treatments. He created a term for this new modality of medicine, Digital Therapeutics™, and founded Click Therapeutics which develops, validates, and commercializes software as prescription medical treatments for people with unmet medical needs. In collaboration with Otsuka, Click Therapeutics developed Rejoyn™, the first prescription digital therapeutic authorized by the FDA for the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder symptoms. In addition, the company discovered and developed CT-132, the first ever prescription digital therapeutic authorized by the FDA for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine.  Click has digital therapeutics under development in a wide variety of therapeutic areas including psychiatry, neurology, oncology, immunology, and cardiometabolic diseases.

David is a staunch advocate for rigorous development and high-quality evidence standards. His mission is to create safer and more efficacious treatments through the combination of software and drugs, and believes collaborations between tech and pharma will revolutionize the standard of care and improve access to high-quality medical treatments globally.

Prior to founding Click Therapeutics, David was Managing Director at Opus Point Partners which created, financed, and operated 10+ science companies including Cougar Biotechnology (Acquired by J&J), Chelsea Therapeutics (Acquired by Lundbeck), and TG Therapeutics (TGTX). He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University. He was recognized by Goldman Sachs in 2019 as one of the 100 most intriguing entrepreneurs at its annual Builders and Innovators conference, and was honored as a PharmaVoice 100 recipient in October of 2024.

David was a guest faculty member at the Biotechnology Program at Columbia University, NYU Stern School of Business, and Columbia Business School. A native New Yorker, David is an avid art enthusiast and is the co-founder of Eli Klein Gallery, America’s leading Chinese contemporary art gallery.

Lisa leads the Strategic Customer Engagement organization at Medidata, ensuring our customers’ voices drives the value we bring to market.
Lisa is a seasoned leader in the intersection of technology and clinical research, with nearly 25 years of experience across pharma, biotech, and medical devices. Her roles include leadership of product, engineering, AI research, and customer engagement organizations within both sponsor and product technology companies – supporting the industry’s ever evolving need for innovative technology to improve clinical development and patient outcomes.
Lisa serves on the board of ACDM, ACRO, and is on the advisory board for the Sexual and Gender Minority Alliance. Lisa holds a BS in Biomedical/Biochemical engineering from the University of Southern California.

Shaheen Lakhan, MD, PhD, FAAN, serves as Chief Medical & Scientific Officer at Click Therapeutics, where he leads the development of prescription digital therapeutics and software-enhanced drugs. A board-certified neurologist and pain medicine specialist trained at Cleveland Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Lakhan brings over 20 years of experience in clinical care, academia, and industry. He has facilitated the approval of more than 10 first-in-class drugs and medical devices, while publishing over 100 peer-reviewed papers and books. His work in democratizing healthcare has earned him the President's Call to Service Award for Lifetime Achievement by George W. Bush and The U.S. Congressional Award Gold Medal Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

Tony McDermott is the Vice President, Global Commercial Strategy at Click Therapeutics. In this role, Tony functions as the Asset Lead for our Boehringer Ingelheim collaboration and leads our new product planning initiatives. Prior to joining Click in August 2022, Tony built a ~20 year career through work in healthcare consulting - and market research, market access, and policy disciplines on the pharmaceutical manufacturer side of the business. During his time working for pharmaceutical manufacturers, he held various commercial and strategy roles at Bristol Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk, and ViiV Healthcare.