The life science industry in the United Kingdom operates by codes of ethics which govern set compliance guidelines for all materials and activities to ensure they are delivered in a responsible, professional, transparent manner and are appropriate for use. Codes cover promotion of medicines and devices to healthcare professionals and other decision makers to ensure they are kept up-to-date on the latest treatments available for patients. The availability of accurate up-to-date information is vital for appropriate use and approvals of all activities and materials adhere to standard operating procedures.
Although codes are self-regulating, there is strong support given by the industry and any complaint made against a company is treated as a serious matter which can result in not only reputational damage but also hefty fines and full company audits.
Each activity must be checked for medical factual accuracy and obtain a final medical signatory for approval of use. The more activities a company undertakes, the more items will require review and approval which creates an increase of pressure on the compliance approval system. Currently this is a manual based process which uses a vast amount of time from highly-skilled individuals.
The AI Driven Review for Scientific Accuracy in Life Sciences project aims to not only successfully achieve a proof of concept, but develop a minimal viable software solution providing companies within a specified therapeutic area access to an affordable alternative to outsource the service. This is made possible by reducing the manual time spent reviewing approvals by utilising artificial intelligence to automate the reviewing process. The system will automatically factually check against claims and references which will drastically reduce the human element requirement. Not only will this speed up the process, it will also reduce any human based errors. By outsourcing this service it will allow companies to better manage their highly-skilled employees time on projects where they provide the most value to their business.
Streamlining the compliance review and approval process will enable the industry to fast track activities and materials which will mean a quicker entry to market and provide agility, whilst reducing missed opportunities or postponements previously caused by human based pressures.