Podcast

The role of AI should be primarily focused on helping people and providing better outcomes in healthcare.

In this episode, Mike Montello, Senior Vice President of R&D and Digital and Technology at GSK, explains the role of AI in driving drug discovery through genetics and genomics. He highlights AI's impact on clinical trial acceleration and cost reduction, mentioning the importance of transformation and acceleration for every pharma company. Montello also discusses the rise of generative AI, which will automate lots of mundane tasks, improving efficiency and productivity. He shares the criteria a quality startup must meet to collaborate with GSK, such as aligning with their priorities, and puts more focus on what technology can do for people than the other way around. Finally, Mike expresses his admiration for leaders such as Simon Sinek and Brené Brown who can inspire and motivate his efforts.

Tune in and learn about the transformative power of technology in advancing healthcare!

About Mike Montello:

Mike Montello serves as the Senior Vice President, R&D Digital and Tech at GSK, a pharmaceutical company that ranks among the top ten globally and generates over $36 billion in revenue. Oncology, immunology, respiratory disorders, HIV, and infectious illnesses are its strong therapeutic domains. Mike is a sponsor of multiple aspects of GSK's overall digital transformation, including the company's transition to a product-centric structure, its strategic alliances with IT firms, and its digital training initiatives. Building diverse teams and encouraging inclusive leaders are two things that particularly inspire and excite him personally. He gets his energy from speeding innovation through culture. His other main concern is giving GSK's AI machine learning engineers the best quality data in the safest manner possible.

Over his career, Mike has worked to improve healthcare via the use of digital, data, and analytics technologies. Mike held the position of CIO at Quintiles prior to the company's 2018 rebranding as IQVIA. He was in charge of the technological platforms that allowed clinical trials to take place in over 100 nations. Along with leading the product teams that developed the next generation of clinical development data and analytics capabilities, decentralized trial platforms, and supported multiple tech acquisitions, Mike also directed the company's R&D technology strategy following the merger with IMS and Quintiles. In addition to spending several years in IT leadership positions at Shire Pharmaceuticals, Mike spent twelve years working as a management consultant at Accenture, where he developed his basic understanding of biopharmaceuticals and technology. 

Mike has a mechanical engineering degree and graduated from London Business School with an executive MBA.

Things You’ll Learn:

• Every pharmaceutical company needs transformation and acceleration.
• GSK is using AI to identify patients who are most likely to respond favorably to medicines and vaccines by leveraging appropriate data.
• In the pharma sector, there is a constant need to accelerate clinical trials, drug discovery, and the commercialization process.
• Large language models and AI will help us a lot with mundane activities.
• We have to balance the benefits of AI with making sure we're doing things extremely responsibly.
• It's less about the technology and more about serving people with that technology.

Resources:

• Connect with and follow Mike Montello on LinkedIn.
• Follow GSK on LinkedIn and visit their website.