{"podcast":{"title":"The COG Review: Building Better Clinical Studies","slug":"the-cog-review-building-better-clinical-studies-7614513","podcast_index_feed_id":7614513,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/the-cog-review/","website_url":"https://www.thepbcgroup.com/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/d9dadea9-d53c-47a7-86c4-9716b99c074a/Podcast-Image-2-COG-Series-1.jpg","author":"The PBC Group","episode_count":16,"summary":"This podcast is specifically designed for biopharma sponsors and CRO executives who are interested in clinical trial outsourcing. The COG Review delivers clinical operations best practices from Clinical Outsourcing Group conferences across the UK, Europe, and North America. Each 25-minute episode provides actionable insights on CRO selection, vendor management, clinical trial budget optimization, and study design from pharmaceutical and biotech leaders. Learn clinical trial technology strategies, AI integration, and sponsor-CRO relationship best practices from industry experts at COG UK, COG Europe, COG Bay Area, and COG CRO Summit. Essential listening for clinical operations professionals, biotech CMOs, and clinical development executives seeking clinical study optimization strategies. Produced by The PBC Group. Follow for new episodes and find your nearest meeting at thepbcgroup.com.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-30T14:17:03.949381+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cog-review-building-better-clinical-studies-7614513"},"episode":{"title":"Designing Clinical Trials to Avoid Historical Failures in HR-MDS with Joab Wiliamson","slug":"designing-clinical-trials-to-avoid-historical-failures-in-hr-mds-with-joab-wiliamson","published_at":"2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cog-review-building-better-clinical-studies-7614513/designing-clinical-trials-to-avoid-historical-failures-in-hr-mds-with-joab-wiliamson","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cog-review-building-better-clinical-studies-7614513","url":"https://the-cog-review.captivate.fm/episode/designing-clinical-trials-to-avoid-historical-failures-in-hr-mds-with-joab-wiliamson","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/25c76bfe-f7bd-40b1-81bc-8b39483b8904.mp3","summary":"Gain practical strategies to de-risk clinical trial outsourcing and design more robust studies in high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS), with lessons directly applicable to clinical study optimization and CRO selection. Speaker Joab Williamson VP of Operations, Faron Pharmaceuticals LinkedIn: Joab Williamson Specialty: Clinical trial operations, immunotherapy development, rare and high-risk oncology indications Episode Overview Live from COG UK, this episode features Joab Williamson, VP of Operations at Faron Pharmaceuticals, sharing an operational case study on trial design and outsourcing strategy for high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The session was moderated by Sverre Bengtsson with insights relevant to those involved in clinical study optimization, CRO selection, and risk mitigation in oncology trials. Drawing from a series of historical failures by leading sponsors in HR-MDS, including studies by Novartis, Takeda, and Gilead, Joab Williamson dissects why promising assets stumbled at the Phase 3 stage, and what clinical operations teams can do differently. Topics include the impact of post-trial treatment and global standard-of-care variability on overall survival endpoints, and why realistic effect sizing plus adaptive design are crucial for clinical outsourcing success. Key operational themes include designing protocols that anticipate real-world patient heterogeneity, aligning geography and eligibility criteria to de-risk outsourcing initiatives, and embedding a pre-mortem approach during early protocol development. For clinical research professionals focused on clinical trial outsourcing, vendor management, and CRO partnerships, the discussion offers actionable frameworks for reducing failure risk and optimizing trial delivery. Key Moments 00:02:…","meta_description":"Gain practical strategies to de-risk clinical trial outsourcing and design more robust studies in high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS), with lesson…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1244,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-cog-review-building-better-clinical-studies-7614513/episodes/designing-clinical-trials-to-avoid-historical-failures-in-hr-mds-with-joab-wiliamson/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-cog-review-building-better-clinical-studies-7614513/designing-clinical-trials-to-avoid-historical-failures-in-hr-mds-with-joab-wiliamson.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}