Cytel Blog

At Cytel, we have been diligently working to become an organization deeply committed to uplifting and enriching society. The core purpose of our business is to help our clients in their endeavor to improve human health. Our employees are committed to upholding the highest standards in our interactions with customers, our colleagues and the communities in which we live and work.

Each year, we have several sustainable programs planned around providing education in healthcare and statistics. However, this year with the pandemic disrupting the socio-economic circumstances of the whole world, we were quick to implement new drives to support the fight against COVID-19.

2020 has been an unusually difficult year as the global pandemic impacted all of our lives. This year, the Cytel blog saw a lot of activity as we tried to keep our readers abreast with the latest updates on the COVID-19 clinical trials, and covered other trending and important topics such as, the growing adoption of Synthetic Control Arms, master protocols, Head to Head Comparisons and Bayesian methods. We also collaborated with several experts from both within and outside the company to conduct several series of webinars and provided summaries through our blogs.

Continue reading to learn about the top 10 Cytel blogs that resonated most with our community in 2020.

Sachin Sobale began his career with Cytel as a young statistician. He has been associated with the company for more than 13 years and is now based in the US. In this blog we talk to Sachin about his journey so far, his current role, and achievements; and we get some tips from him for young statisticians who are interested in pursuing a career in this field.

As Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Yannis Jemiai plays a pivotal role in maintaining Cytel’s well-established reputation for statistical excellence and our track-record of bringing innovative analytic approaches to the development of medicines for human health. With oversight for the corporate-level Scientific Agenda, Yannis ensures Cytel continues to be known for thought leadership in adaptive designs while expanding its reputation in Bayesian statistics, Complex innovative designs, and the use of Real-World analytics for regulatory and post-approval purposes. Yannis’ research interests include adaptive trial design, causal inference, decision theory, and regulatory affairs.

In this blog we talk to Yannis about his long-standing association with Cytel, his views on adaptive designs and their future; and we get some tips from him for young statisticians, programmers and those interested in pursuing a career in this field.

Mrudula Joshi joined Cytel in July 2005 as a young SAS programmer. Last month, she celebrated her 15th year work anniversary at the company. In this blog we talk to Mrudula about her journey so far, her current role, and achievements; and we get some tips from her for young statisticians, programmers and those interested in pursuing a career in this field.

Cytel’s Biostatistics and Statistical Programming team for Functional Services provides integrated solutions, by blending the expertise of programming and the experience of statistics. As our FSP division continues to grow, we are looking to hire programmers and biostatisticians. Cytel's recruitment and FSP teams are hosting a one hour long Virtual Careers Open Day on Thursday, September 10th at 11:00 AM EDT. Join us to learn more about our expanding FSP team, open career opportunities and what it means to be part of Cytel. Click on the button to register for the virtual event.

Cytel’s Biostatistics and Statistical Programming team provides integrated solutions, by blending the expertise of programming and experience of statistics. Being a notable Functional Services Provider (FSP) in the industry, we take pride in supporting our clients as they navigate the intricacies of 21st century drug development. As our FSP division continues to grow, we are looking to hire programmers and biostatisticians. Cytel's recruitment and FSP teams are hosting a one hour long Virtual Careers Open Day on Thursday, September 10th at 11:00AM EDT. Join us to learn more about our expanding FSP team, open career opportunities and what it means to be part of Cytel. Click on the button to register for the virtual event.

Cytel has industry-leading experts in Statistical Programming with years of SAS® Programming expertise and in-depth knowledge of the specific clinical subject matter. Their insights into strategy, and high competence in project management ensure a new twist on the traditional CRO.

In February 2020 we interviewed Marc Lefebvre-Gouy who is a lead statistical programmer at Cytel in France. Marc made a career transition from genetics to statistical programming and in this interview, he speaks to us about programmers working across therapeutic areas, programming challenges across phases of a trial, and the top technical competencies every programmer must have. He also gives us a sneak peek of his hobby of cooking and his love for wine.

On March 16, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in his media briefing on COVID-19, described the coronavirus pandemic as “the defining global health crisis of our time"^[1]. The pandemic has affected 176 countries and territories around the world. WHO is urging all governments to scale-up aggressive measures to combat COVID-19 as more cases and deaths are being reported across the globe. Until a vaccine is made available, social distancing is of the utmost importance to reduce transmission and enable health systems to cope.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines social distancing as “remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible” ^[2]. Governments in several countries have shut down public places such as parks, gyms, malls, schools, restaurants etc., for a minimum of 15 days, to be extended depending upon the situation.

In these circumstances, it is inevitable that companies worldwide also show solidarity by allowing their employees to work remotely, from the safety of their homes. In Seattle, the hub of many of America’s early COVID-19 cases, companies including Amazon, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Google advised workers to stop coming to office in late February ^[3]. With more employers taking this necessary and precautionary step, the question arises - how do we ensure that it is done right?

Cytel Inc. and Axio Research joined forces in June 2019, expanding our ability to solve the most complex analytical challenges for the life sciences industry. Cytel offers a full range of clinical data management services delivered by advanced analytics experts with global reach.

In this blog, we talk to Ronald Dumpit, who is based in Bremerton, Washington to find out more about his career path, current role at Axio and his interests outside of work.