Building the Digital Future of Clinical Research: My First Year as CIO and What Comes Next
By Andy Broomhead, Chief Information Officer (CIO)
When I stepped into the role of Chief Information Officer at Panthera Biopartners, it was not the beginning of my journey with the organisation, but a continuation of it. Having previously spent two years as IT Director, much of the groundwork for Panthera’s digital transformation was already underway. The move to CIO represented both recognition of that progress and a shift in remit, from delivering systems to shaping how technology supports the long-term strategy of the business.
That shift became even more significant following Panthera’s investment from LDC in August. With new backing, increased ambition, and a clear growth trajectory, technology has an even more critical role to play. My focus over the past year has been to ensure that Panthera’s digital foundations are strong, scalable, and capable of supporting the next phase of growth, while remaining firmly grounded in compliance, security, and patient trust.
Year one has been about consolidation, maturity, and turning technology into a genuine operational advantage. Year two is about intelligence, integration, and scale.
Year One: From Delivery to Digital Leadership
Strengthening the operational backbone
One of the most important strands of work during my first year as CIO has been completing and extending programmes that began during my time as IT Director. Chief among these has been the transition to a unified Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS), with CRIO now serving as the core platform for trial delivery and electronic source data capture.
This transition goes far beyond replacing legacy tools. It establishes a consistent, compliant framework for how studies are scheduled, delivered, documented, and monitored across sites. By bringing these activities into a single system, we have reduced duplication, improved data quality, and created a clearer line of sight between clinic activity and sponsor reporting.
The move to CRIO has also been shaped by regulatory expectations. Compliance with UK GDPR and international data integrity standards has been built into the programme from the outset, ensuring that digitisation strengthens, rather than complicates, audit readiness. While the implementation is still being finalised, the direction is clear. Panthera now operates with a digital backbone designed for modern clinical research rather than incremental growth.
Elevating cybersecurity beyond baseline compliance
Cybersecurity has always been a priority at Panthera, but over the past year we have deliberately moved beyond treating it as a certification exercise. While maintaining baseline accreditations remains important, our focus is now on operating an enterprise-grade security posture that reflects both the sensitivity of clinical and patient data and the realities of the modern threat landscape.
The nature of cyber risk has changed significantly. Breaches today are far less likely to originate from technical failures in infrastructure and far more likely to stem from compromised identities, social engineering, or simple human error. Attackers no longer need to break systems if they can persuade, trick, or exploit legitimate users. This shift means that traditional perimeter-based security models are no longer sufficient on their own.
In response, security across the organisation is now identity-led and risk-based. Access to systems is governed by who the user is, the health of the device they are using, and the context in which access is being requested. Controls are adaptive rather than static, continuously reassessing risk rather than assuming trust. This approach is designed to recognise that credentials may be exposed at some point and that protection must therefore adapt in real time.
Just as importantly, cybersecurity is no longer confined to technology controls. Clear incident and cyber response procedures are embedded across the business, with defined ownership, escalation paths, and governance oversight. Over the past year, highly visible breaches across multiple industries have reinforced the importance of this approach. Learning from these events, even when they occur outside clinical research, has shaped how we think about preparedness, resilience, and accountability.
The result is an environment that is resilient, proportionate, and aligned with best practice, without relying on the disclosure of specific tools or configurations. For sponsors, partners, and patients, this translates into confidence that sensitive data is protected throughout the research lifecycle, even as threats continue to evolve.
Improving efficiency through automation
A key principle that has guided our digital work is that technology should remove friction, not add it. Nowhere is this more visible than in the automation we have introduced across patient engagement and internal operations.
Over the past year, we have expanded the use of automated communications to support patients throughout their journey. Appointment reminders, form prompts, and follow-up messages are delivered through secure digital channels at the right time, reducing missed steps and improving attendance. In practical terms, these automations have recovered a meaningful proportion of responses that would previously have been lost, improving recruitment efficiency without increasing pressure on patients.
These same principles have been applied internally. By automating routine tasks and streamlining workflows, teams spend less time on administration and more time on meaningful interaction. This approach has also enabled Panthera to bring previously outsourced activity back in-house, reducing costs while improving responsiveness and control.
Automation at Panthera is not about replacing people. It is about enabling them to focus on the parts of their role that require judgement, empathy, and expertise.
Embedding data into decision-making
Another defining feature of the past year has been the way data is now used across the organisation. Historically, reporting in clinical operations can be fragmented and retrospective. We have worked to change that by embedding live reporting into day-to-day management.
Operational dashboards now provide near real-time visibility of recruitment progress, site activity, and study delivery. This has changed the rhythm of decision-making. Issues can be identified earlier, trends are easier to spot, and discussions are grounded in shared data rather than assumptions.
Behind this sits a growing analytics capability that is designed to evolve over time. The immediate benefit has been clarity and transparency. The longer-term objective is to move towards predictive insight, where historical data informs forward-looking decisions.
Laying the groundwork for responsible use of AI
Artificial intelligence is increasingly part of the conversation in healthcare and research, but its adoption requires care. Over the past year, we have taken a deliberate and measured approach, focusing on governance as much as opportunity.
Panthera now has a clear framework for how AI tools can be explored and used safely. This framework prioritises data protection, transparency, and accountability, ensuring that experimentation does not compromise trust or compliance.
Early use cases have focused on efficiency and insight, such as summarising information, supporting internal analysis, and identifying patterns in operational data. The emphasis has been on practical value rather than novelty, with the understanding that AI should augment expertise, not replace it.
A shift in culture and capability
Perhaps the most important change during my first year as CIO has been cultural. Technology is no longer seen as something that happens in the background. Teams across Panthera increasingly see digital tools as central to how they deliver their work.
Collaboration between IT, operations, marketing, and patient engagement has become the norm rather than the exception. Digital literacy has improved, confidence has grown, and there is a shared understanding that technology is a strategic enabler of growth.
This cultural shift is critical. Systems can be implemented quickly, but meaningful transformation only happens when people adopt them fully and use them intelligently.
Year Two: Scaling Intelligence and Supporting Growth
With strong foundations in place, the focus for the coming year is on scale, integration, and intelligence. As Panthera grows, both organically and through expansion into Europe, technology must support consistency without limiting flexibility.
Completing and optimising the CRIO platform
The next phase of our CTMS and eSource journey will see CRIO eSource fully embedded for all new trials. Once this is complete, attention will shift from implementation to optimisation.
This includes deeper integration with reporting and analytics, reducing manual reconciliation, and creating a single, reliable source of truth for operational data. The objective is to shorten reporting cycles, improve transparency, and support more informed conversations with sponsors.
Scaling securely across borders
As Panthera expands into new European markets, maintaining consistent digital and security standards becomes even more important. The coming year will see a strong focus on ensuring that new sites are onboarded into a unified technology and governance framework.
This approach allows Panthera to scale without fragmentation, ensuring that data protection, access control, and operational oversight remain consistent regardless of geography.
Advancing predictive analytics and AI
With better data and more mature governance, Year Two will see a gradual expansion of predictive analytics. This includes models that help anticipate appointment risk, support capacity planning, and inform feasibility assessments.
The aim is not automation for its own sake, but foresight. By understanding patterns earlier, teams can act sooner and with greater confidence.
Strengthening governance and privacy
Growth brings complexity, and governance must evolve alongside it. Over the next year we will continue to refine our data protection framework, including clearer privacy communications, automated retention controls, and enhanced auditability across systems.
This work ensures that innovation remains sustainable and aligned with regulatory expectations.
Investing in people and capability
Finally, sustained progress depends on people. The next phase of Panthera’s digital journey includes a renewed focus on building internal capability, ensuring that teams understand not just how to use systems, but why they matter.
By investing in digital confidence and shared understanding, we ensure that the benefits of technology continue to multiply over time.
Looking ahead
The transition from IT Director to CIO has not changed my core belief about technology. It exists to serve people, science, and outcomes. What has changed is the scale of opportunity.
With the backing of LDC, a growing international footprint, and a strong digital foundation, Panthera is well positioned to continue redefining how clinical research is delivered. The past year has been about building trust in systems, data, and capability. The year ahead is about using that trust to move faster, think smarter, and scale responsibly.
Technology will not be the story on its own, but it will remain central to how Panthera delivers on its mission: running better trials, supporting patients more effectively, and creating lasting value for partners and sponsors.
