Drug developers are under growing pressure to make critical decisions earlier, often with incomplete information. As sponsors navigate increasingly complex tradeoffs around speed, cost, evidence generation and patient access, many are turning to real-world data to strengthen decision-making across the development lifecycle. According to Catie Schlechter, senior director of commercial operations and program management, real-world data at Labcorp, these insights can help organizations better understand patient populations, treatment patterns and study feasibility before committing significant development resources.
In this video interview, Schlechter explores how real-world evidence is moving beyond its traditional post-approval role and becoming a tool for informing development strategy and clinical execution. She discusses how real-world insights can help sponsors design studies that better reflect patients seen in routine clinical practice, identify sites with strong recruitment potential and improve connections between eligible patients and clinical trials.
The conversation also examines the growing convergence of real-world data, diagnostics, genomics and artificial intelligence. As precision medicine advances, Schlechter argues that integrating these data sources can provide a more complete understanding of disease and treatment response, helping sponsors design more targeted studies and make more informed development decisions. Play the full interview to hear her perspective on the evolving role of real-world data in shaping the future of clinical research.
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