Matt Veatch on Real World Data, Phenotypes & Why Precision Beats Big Data | Pharma Prescribed
Matt Veatch — co-founder and COO of Navidence and host of Real World Wednesdays — joins Adam Walker for one of the most technically rich conversations on the Pharma Prescribed Podcast.
Matt spent nearly 30 years in clinical research — from the National Jewish Center for Immunology to Quintiles, where he watched electronic medical records emerge in the mid-2000s and knew he wanted to be part of it. He co-founded Navidence — a platform helping life science organisations find the right real world data for the right use case — and DTRA, the Decentralized Trials and Research Alliance, where the FDA is a member.
🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP
Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/3eINTAZcnOfn1FWIrRCpQm?si=r9Dup8rjRFKIGi8ouRSnTQ
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Podbean → https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-cs6t2-19fdc71
📖 WHAT WE COVER
- Precision data not big data — and why the distinction matters
- Turning protocol design upside down: building from coding ontologies, not mapping back to them
- What a computable phenotype is — the key that fits the lock of a research study
- Cutting feasibility from 8–10 weeks to hours
- Tokenisation: linking data sets without identifying the patient
- Decentralised trials as a regulatory term — not a marketing buzzword
- FDA joining DTRA — why that matters for regulatory science
- AI ethics: hallucinations, mirages and the ethical framework
- The entrepreneurial leap: why middle life is often the right time
- Puzzle pieces: building a team around complementary strengths
⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction & podcast mission
1:00 Meet Matt Veatch — co-founder of Navidence
2:00 From exercise physiology to clinical research
3:00 The rise of EMRs at Quintiles in the mid-2000s
4:00 Corporate intrapreneur to entrepreneur
5:00 Why middle life is the right time to go independent
6:00 Co-founding Navidence: the operating system between data and decisions
7:00 RWD being pulled into RCTs by large pharma
8:00 Evolutionary not revolutionary — how change works
9:00 Meeting the co-founders: sparks of genius
10:00 Data-driven protocols: turning the funnel upside down
11:00 Coding ontologies: ICD-10, SNOMED, LOINC
12:00 Mapping back vs designing forward — why it matters
13:00 Finding patients with RWD: shades of grey
14:00 Nested Knowledge: AI-enabled literature searches
15:00 Characterising the patient: the diabetes example
16:00 Creating opportunity for rural patients and research access
17:00 Technology and culture shift in patient engagement
18:00 COVID and decentralised trials: reluctant but necessary
19:00 DTRA: the Decentralized Trials and Research Alliance
20:00 Decentralised as a regulatory term — not a buzzword
21:00 FDA as a DTRA member and regulatory science
22:00 AI ethics: hallucinations, mirages and haphazard use
23:00 Broad consents and tokenisation
24:00 The convergence: regulatory science, data and LLMs
25:00 30 years in — and more excited than ever
26:00 Safety and patient protection in the AI era
27:00 Tokenisation explained: linking without identifying
28:00 NFTs vs data tokens — clearing the confusion
29:00 If your data could help, would you share it?
30:00 US healthcare fragmentation and tokens as a bridge
31:00 From big data to precision data
32:00 Navidence's platform: MD, PhD medical informaticists
33:00 Feasibility from 8–10 weeks to hours
34:00 Target product profiles as living documents
35:00 Consistency from early development to commercialisation
36:00 The future of RWD and shouting from the rooftops
37:00 Pharma layoffs as a culture change opportunity
38:00 Quick-fire: don't fear entrepreneurism
39:00 Trust, puzzle pieces, complementary strengths
40:00 Exercise, the bench press and mind-body-spirit
41:00 Golden rule: be passionate or take steps to get there
42:00 matt@navidence.com — how to connect
43:00 Closing thanks and Real World Wednesdays
👤 ABOUT MATT VEATCH
Matt Veatch is co-founder and COO of Navidence, co-founder of DTRA and host of Real World Wednesdays. Nearly 30 years in clinical research including senior leadership at Quintiles.
🌐 https://www.navidence.com
📧 matt@navidence.com
💼 Search "Matt Veatch" on LinkedIn
🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED
Long-form conversations with leaders in clinical research, digital health and mental wellbeing, hosted by Adam Walker.
🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/
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