The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals

What are the signals today that will define the future of oncology treatment tomorrow? The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals brings together leaders across biopharma, healthcare, academia and technology to explore the innovations reshaping drug development in oncology. Hosted by experts across Syneos Health, including Wael Harb, MD, Head of Research and Development and Scientific Strategy in oncology, each episode captures candid conversations about emerging science, evolving market dynamics and the trends poised to influence the future of patient care. Tune in for timely perspectives on what's next—and what it means for the oncology industry, its stakeholders and most importantly its patients. Subscribe to The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals for new episodes. If there’s a topic you’d like us to explore, send us a message at podcasts@syneoshealth.com . <p

The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals is a business podcast hosted by Syneos Health, with 14 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Syneos Health hosts The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals, a business show with 14 episodes published.

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  The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals

  Early Signals at ASCO 2026 | Beyond Digitization: How AI Is Transforming Clinical Trial Operations

  Aug 20, 202635 min

  If clinical trials are already digitized, why do clinical operations remain so complex, manual and resource-intensive? In this episode of Early Signals , Wael Harb, MD, speaks with Ram Yalamanchili, Founder and CEO of Tilda Research, about the next frontier for AI in clinical trials: moving beyond digitization to tackle the operational complexity that can slow clinical development. They explore how agentic AI and “AI teammates” can support clinical operations teams across complex workflows, from site startup and trial oversight to data management and regulatory activities. Rather than replacing clinical research professionals, these technologies are designed to take on repetitive coordination and operational tasks, creating greater capacity for teams to focus on work that requires human expertise. The conversation also examines what successful AI adoption requires beyond the technology itself, including AI fluency, governance and human oversight. Ram shares examples of how AI-enabled clinical operations can potentially improve productivity, quality and timeliness and discusses where CROs and biopharma organizations may see the greatest near-term opportunities. In this episode, you’ll hear about: Why digitization alone hasn’t eliminated clinical trial operational bottlenecks How agentic AI and AI teammates differ from traditional copilots Opportunities to use AI in site startup and other complex clinical trial workflows The importance of human-in-the-loop AI governance and workforce AI fluency How AI can help clinical operations teams increase capacity without simply reducing headcount Potential applications across trial master file management, data management and monitoring, finance and trial oversight What AI-enabled operating models could mean for the future of CROs, biopharma sponsors and clinical development Listen to the full episode to explore how AI could help clinical research teams move beyond digitization toward more intelligent, scalable and efficient clinical trial execution. The views expressed in this podcast belong solely to the speakers and do not represent those of their organization. If you want access to more future-focused, actionable insights to help biopharmaceutical companies better execute and succeed in a constantly evolving environment, visit the Syneos Health Insights Hub . The perspectives you’ll find there are driven by dynamic research and crafted by subject matter experts focused on real answers to help guide decision-making and investment. You can find it all at https://www.syneoshealth.com/insights-hub . Like what you’re hearing? Be sure to rate and review us! We want to hear from you! If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover on a future episode, contact us at podcast@syneoshealth.com .

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  The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals

  Early Signals at ASCO 2026 | Can TIL Therapy Reach More Patients?

  Aug 13, 202619 min

  Can the next generation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies overcome the barriers that have limited broader adoption of cell therapy in solid tumors? In this episode of Early Signals, recorded live at ASCO 2026, Wael Harb, MD sits down with Parameswaran Hari, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Obsidian Therapeutics, to discuss how engineered TIL therapies are evolving beyond first-generation approaches. Drawing on his experience leading the clinical development of lifileucel and now advancing OBX-115, Dr. Hari explores how controllable cytokine expression, streamlined manufacturing and patient-centric trial design may help make cell therapies safer, more accessible and easier to deliver across a broader range of treatment centers. Together, they examine preliminary clinical data from an ongoing study of OBX-115, an investigational therapy that has not been approved by regulatory authorities. The conversation also explores where TIL therapy fits within an increasingly complex immuno-oncology landscape and why continued innovation in manufacturing, accessibility and global drug development will be essential to bringing these therapies to more patients. In this episode, you'll learn: Why next-generation TIL therapies are being engineered to improve safety, scalability and patient access. What preliminary ASCO 2026 findings from the ongoing OBX-115 study show to date, and the limitations of interpreting early efficacy and safety data from a small patient population. What early ASCO 2026 clinical data suggest about efficacy, durability and safety in checkpoint inhibitor-resistant melanoma. How innovations in manufacturing and trial design may expand the future role of cell therapy across solid tumors. Why Dr. Hari believes accessibility, affordability and global collaboration will define the next era of oncology drug development. The views expressed in this podcast belong solely to the speakers and do not represent those of their organization. If you want access to more future-focused, actionable insights to help biopharmaceutical companies better execute and succeed in a constantly evolving environment, visit the Syneos Health Insights Hub . The perspectives you’ll find there are driven by dynamic research and crafted by subject matter experts focused on real answers to help guide decision-making and investment. You can find it all at https://www.syneoshealth.com/insights-hub . Like what you’re hearing? Be sure to rate and review us! We want to hear from you! If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover on a future episode, contact us at podcast@syneoshealth.com .

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  The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals

  Early Signals at ASCO 2026 | Is MRD Ready to Guide Drug Development?

  Aug 6, 202625 min

  Can minimal residual disease (MRD) do more than measure response? Could it redefine how multiple myeloma therapies are developed, approved and ultimately used to guide patient care? In this episode of Early Signals, recorded live at ASCO 2026, Dr. Wael Harb sits down with Dr. Samer Al Hadidi , Associate Professor and Clinical Director of the Amyloidosis Program at Univestity of Texas Southwestern, to explore why MRD has become one of the most important conversations in multiple myeloma. Together, they discuss how increasingly sensitive MRD testing is changing the definition of remission, supporting time-limited treatment strategies and emerging as a potential surrogate endpoint for drug development. They also examine what recent ASCO data—including the MajesTEC studies—may signal for the future of treatment sequencing, combination strategies and the long-term goal of curing multiple myeloma. In this episode, you'll learn: Why MRD has become central to defining remission—and potentially cure—in multiple myeloma. How MRD is influencing treatment duration, escalation and de-escalation strategies. What the FDA's acceptance of MRD as a surrogate endpoint could mean for oncology drug development. Why sustained MRD negativity may be more meaningful than a single negative result. The views expressed in this podcast belong solely to the speakers and do not represent those of their organization. If you want access to more future-focused, actionable insights to help biopharmaceutical companies better execute and succeed in a constantly evolving environment, visit the Syneos Health Insights Hub . The perspectives you’ll find there are driven by dynamic research and crafted by subject matter experts focused on real answers to help guide decision-making and investment. You can find it all at https://www.syneoshealth.com/insights-hub . Like what you’re hearing? Be sure to rate and review us! We want to hear from you! If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover on a future episode, contact us at podcast@syneoshealth.com .

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  The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals

  Early Signals at ASCO 2026 | Can AI Predict Cancer's Next Move? Rethinking Drug Resistance in Oncology

  Jul 21, 202625 min

  Can AI predict cancer's next move before drug resistance develops? Drug resistance remains one of the greatest challenges in oncology drug development. Most targeted therapies are designed to treat today's tumor biology, leaving researchers to react only after resistance mutations emerge. But what if artificial intelligence (AI) could help predict how cancer evolves before treatment begins? In this episode of Early Signals, recorded live at ASCO 2026, Syneos Wael Harb, MD, Head of R&D and Scientific Strategy in Oncology, speaks with Violet Zahedi, MD, Founder and CEO of Synamics Therapeutics , about how AI, computational biology and protein modeling are being used to anticipate resistance mutations and design more durable cancer therapies. Drawing on her experience as both a physician and biotechnology founder, Dr. Zahedi explains why oncology has traditionally taken a reactive approach to drug resistance, and how predictive AI platforms could fundamentally change the way targeted therapies are discovered, optimized and commercialized. Rather than redesigning drugs after resistance develops, her team is using machine learning, structural biology and protein modeling to predict cancer's next evolutionary move before it occurs. The discussion explores the growing role of AI in oncology drug discovery, including its potential to accelerate lead optimization, improve compound prioritization, support biomarker-driven patient stratification and reduce the time and cost associated with developing next-generation cancer therapies. Dr. Zahedi also shares how her team validated its predictive platform using EGFR inhibitors and Aurora A kinase inhibitors, highlighting collaborations with the Mayo Clinic and presenting new findings at ASCO 2026. Whether you're involved in oncology clinical development, precision medicine, AI-driven drug discovery or biopharmaceutical R&D, this episode explores how predictive resistance intelligence may reshape the future of cancer drug development. In this episode, you'll learn: · Why drug resistance remains one of oncology's greatest unmet challenges · How AI can predict resistance mutations before they emerge · The role of AlphaFold, computational biology and protein structure prediction in drug discovery · How predictive resistance modeling may accelerate oncology drug development · Opportunities to improve compound prioritization and patient stratification · What AI could mean for the future of precision oncology and targeted therapies The views expressed in this podcast belong solely to the speakers and do not represent those of their organization. If you want access to more future-focused, actionable insights to help biopharmaceutical companies better execute and succeed in a constantly evolving environment, visit the Syneos Health Insights Hub . The perspectives you’ll find there are driven by dynamic research and crafted by subject matter experts focused on real answers to help guide decision-making and investment. You can find it all at https://www.syneoshealth.com/insights-hub . Like what you’re hearing? Be sure to rate and review us! We want to hear from you! If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover on a future episode, contact us at podcast@syneoshealth.com .

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  The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals

  Early Signals at ASCO 2026 | AI, Multimodal Data and the Next Era of Precision Oncology

  Jul 13, 202626 min

  What if artificial intelligence could help remove the uncertainty from cancer treatment decisions? Precision oncology has already transformed cancer care by matching therapies to actionable biomarkers, but today's advances are moving beyond genomics alone. By integrating molecular, clinical and pathology data at scale, AI is helping researchers and clinicians better predict treatment response, identify the right patients for therapies and accelerate the development of more personalized cancer care. In this episode of The Syneos Health Podcast: Early Signals, Wael Harb, MD, Head of R&D and Scientific Strategy in Oncology at Syneos Health, sits down with Ezra Cohen, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Tempus AI, to discuss how multimodal data and artificial intelligence are reshaping precision oncology. Together, they explore the evolution of biomarker discovery, the growing role of AI in clinical decision-making and what it will take to bring truly individualized cancer care into routine practice. The conversation also explores how digital pathology, real-world data and AI-enabled clinical workflows are improving patient selection, supporting guideline-directed care and laying the foundation for earlier detection and more precise treatment strategies. Topics include: Why precision oncology extends beyond targeted therapies to reducing uncertainty throughout the patient journey How multimodal data and AI are improving biomarker discovery and treatment selection The promise of digital pathology and AI-powered clinical decision support Using real-world data to improve immunotherapy response prediction Closing care gaps through AI-enabled clinical workflows The future of minimal residual disease, early detection and personalized cancer treatment Why collaboration and data sharing will be essential to unlocking AI's full potential in oncology The views expressed in this podcast belong solely to the speakers and do not necessarily represent those of their organizations. The views expressed in this podcast belong solely to the speakers and do not represent those of their organization. If you want access to more future-focused, actionable insights to help biopharmaceutical companies better execute and succeed in a constantly evolving environment, visit the Syneos Health Insights Hub . The perspectives you’ll find there are driven by dynamic research and crafted by subject matter experts focused on real answers to help guide decision-making and investment. You can find it all at https://www.syneoshealth.com/insights-hub . Like what you’re hearing? Be sure to rate and review us! We want to hear from you! If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover on a future episode, contact us at podcast@syneoshealth.com .

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