Already a DIA Member? Sign in. Not a member? Join.

Iniciar sesión

¿Ha olvidado su ID de usuario? or ¿Ha olvidado su contraseña?

Not a Member?

Create Account and Join

Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center

19 oct 2026 7:00 a.m. - 20 oct 2026 5:00 p.m.

5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, MD 20852

Real-World Evidence Conference

Translating Insights into Real-World Value

Session 4: Innovative Approaches and Considerations for Use of External Controls in Drug Development

Session Chair(s)

Gillis  Carrigan, PhD, MS

Gillis Carrigan, PhD, MS

Director, Center for Observational Research, Amgen, United States

Interest is growing in innovative uses of external control arms (ECAs) in drug development, as reflected in recent global regulatory guidance on the role of real-world evidence (RWE) in regulatory decision-making. This session will highlight current research in this dynamic and rapidly evolving area of drug development and RWE.

The session will examine the current role of external controls in drug development and regulatory decision-making. It will begin with a brief overview of this evolving RWE use case, followed by an oncology case study, considerations for selecting appropriate data sources, and a discussion of AI-derived digital twins as external controls. Key takeaways will inform a roundtable discussion and give attendees an opportunity to participate.

Learning Objective : By the end of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Describe key challenges in conducting ECA studies and strategies for addressing them during study design
  • Explain why fit-for-purpose data are foundational for ECA use cases
  • Discuss how innovative approaches, such as digital twins, can support efficient clinical trial design and offer an alternative to traditional ECAs

Speaker(s)

Ulka  Campbell, PhD

Externally Controlled Trials Using Real-World Data: Adapting SPIFD2 to Ensure Principled Design and Data Selection (SPIFD-ECT)

Ulka Campbell, PhD

Head of Scientific Strategy, Datavant, United States

Bernat  Navarro, PhD

Advancing External Control Arms for Regulatory Use: Lessons from a Multi-Stakeholder Pilot

Bernat Navarro, PhD

Senior Science Policy Analyst, Friends of Cancer Research, United States

Daniele  Bertolini, PhD, MS

Digital Twins as Synthetic Controls for Single-Arm Trials

Daniele Bertolini, PhD, MS

Principal Machine Learning Scientist, Unlearn.AI, United States

¿Tiene una cuenta?

Be informed and stay engaged.

Don't miss an opportunity - join our mailing list to stay up to date on DIA insights and events.