This year marks the tenth anniversary of Algorics. How did it come about, and how far have you progressed during this time?

I began my career as a programmer with a large clinical research organization and went on to work for some of the industry's biggest names. I was very passionate about building products that drive efficiency and value in clinical research. This led me to launch Algorics in 2013 with a focus on clinical data analytics. At this time we were building our own product and at the same time, offering statistical programming services. . The company’s first product was Acuity, a cloud-based data analytics product used for real-time clinical trial analytics, which was later on acquired by OmniComm. It was after this asset sale that we went on to build Algorics 2.0, a specialist in data sciences and solutions. 

The global pandemic posed numerous challenges, but it also increased the number of clinical trials and, as a result, the demand for data services.

Algorics has thus grown rapidly over the last two years, and now has approximately 140 data experts spread across nine offices, offering a range of services such as technology solutions, functional service provision (FSP), and project-based delivery, across the data spectrum. We serve a diverse clientele including large pharma, medical device companies, biotechs and clinical research organizations.

How do you assess the appetite for modern technology in the life sciences industry?

Big pharma, in general, can be conservative when it comes to change. However, some large pharmaceutical companies (such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson) are developing incubators and driving innovation. None of this disrupts their product pipelines or what goes through to the FDA, but they are open to trying new ways of doing things such as sourcing deals, for example.

Nonetheless, the global pandemic resulted in an increased number of vaccine trials that required regulatory approvals in record time. Normally, it takes 12 to 14 years for a drug to be approved, but in the last two years, we have seen drugs and vaccines approved in less than 18 months. This demonstrates that the industry is open to new technologies and will adapt and adopt as necessary. To bring the best treatments to market, the research community remains innovative and is constantly evaluating new areas such as AI and machine learning. When companies continue to do things the old way, it is often because the stakes are high, the market is highly regulated, and potentially the regulatory guidelines mandate certain processes. 

What market solutions does Algorics provide, and what can businesses achieve by utilizing your technologies?

Algorics currently has two products, MetaVate and Clarity. MetaVate is a unique, metadata-driven transformation engine that supports the creation of any target data set, allowing statistical programmers to focus on more complex tasks. It is a fully integrated yet modular solution that can increase programming efficiency drastically. Typically, clinical data collected is analyzed and presented to the FDA in a format that makes it easy to determine the impact of the medicine. This process was previously done manually, but we were able to automate it, reducing manual effort by 50-60%. This also reduces the need for specialized talent, which is currently difficult to find and retain.

Clarity, our second solution, is a data visualization tool that allows companies to manage quality parameters throughout the clinical development process. Every clinical submission that goes to the FDA has numerous pages of summary tables, listings, and figures. All of this data can be visualized with Clarity dashboards, thus making it easier to identify signals, trends, patterns, correlations, outliers, and so on. This is often coupled with our data interpretation services, which assist clients in interpreting and actioning dashboard outcomes.

Scarcity of talent has been highlighted as a challenge by many of your peers. What is your company's strategy for attracting and retaining talent?

Fortunately, Algorics has a high retention rate, and in 2022, we began implementing commitment awards to recognize and reward long-term employees. In 2022 alone, almost 26 members of our staff received this award, ranging from three to eight years. We believe our strong track record of retaining talent stems from our core values and company culture, focused on agility, customer centricity, transparency, innovation, ownership and nurturing talent.

When it comes to attracting talent, we do both lateral hiring and bring in new graduates every year. This allows us to bring fresh ideas and energy into the company continuously.

What are Algorics’ key objectives in the coming three to five years? 

Algorics aspires to be known as a rapidly growing data science firm that accelerates clinical research through automation and data visualization. With research and innovation, you help not only the patient, but also their families. This is the broader impact of the work we do.

Our focus today is on the early-stage biotech segment where we want to partner with clients and grow with them. Oncology will continue to be an important focus area because there will always be a need for research and innovation in this field. Leveraging lessons learned from Covid research, we hope to assist our clients in obtaining regulatory approvals much more quickly. Geographically, we already have a strong presence in India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and in the near future, Canada is on our radar for expansion.

Lastly but most importantly, my passion for people has been a huge motivator and we will continue to create more and more opportunities and an inclusive workforce.