Andrew Templeman and Strata Smith

About geologist and bibliophile Andrew Templeman and his unfortunate death from carbon dioxide poisoning

An industry perspective on the use of machine learning in drug and vaccine safety

In recent years there has been growing interest in the use of machine learning across the pharmacovigilance lifecycle to enhance safety monitoring of drugs and vaccines. Here we describe the scope of industry-based research into the use of machine learning for safety purposes. We conducted an examination of the findings from a previously published systematic review; 393 papers sourced from a literature search from 2000–2021 were analyzed and attributed to either industry, academia, or regulatory authorities. Overall, 33 papers verified to be industry contributions were then assigned to one of six categories representing the most frequent PV functions (data ingestion, disease-specific studies, literature review, real world data, signal detection, and social media). RWD and social media comprised 63% (21/33) of the papers, signal detection and data ingestion comprised 18% (6/33) of the papers, while disease-specific studies and literature reviews represented 12% (4/33) and 6% (2/33) of the papers, respectively. Herein we describe the trends and opportunities observed in industry application of machine learning in pharmacovigilance, along with discussing the potential barriers. We conclude that although progress to date has been uneven, industry is very interested in applying machine learning to the pharmacovigilance lifecycle, which it is hoped may ultimately enhance patient safety

Using the Whole Brain to Improve Strategic Reasoning

Traditional views of strategic reasoning have emphasized the role of cognitive analytic processes, often to the neglect of affective and social behavioral functions. This bias has influenced both the theory and the practice of strategic planning. Neuroscientific research holds the promise of identifying a much broader range of human capacities that contribute to the ability to engage and excel in strategic reasoning. Our study of the strategic reasoning performance of a group of mid-career business leaders identified the engagement of social and emotional brain processes that play an important role in strategic thinking ability. In identifying the neural processing correlates of strategic and tactical thinking, we hope to expand and revise the theories of strategic thinking and help develop models for more effective application. We suggest that understanding and engaging the brain’s fuller range of information-processing capacity in accomplishing strategic expertise is itself an important strategy for enhancing the performance of individuals and organizations. We also explore the need to create brain-friendly organizational environments to enhance human performance