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As clinical trials become more expensive to run, well-rationalised collaboration and budgetary planning dictates are crucial, while unlocking valuable data insights with the deployment of technologies such as artificial intelligence can increase a trial’s overall value and lead to improved patient participation, a theme central to the upcoming OCT Southern California clinical trials conference.
What the OCT Southern California Clinical Trials Conference Will Cover
To discuss these and other major themes in the clinical trials industry, Arena International‘s Outsourcing in Trials Southern California conference will return for its 14th edition in September 2026. Taking place in San Diego on 15 and 16 September, the conference will comprise two streams, with Stream A focusing on outsourcing and clinical operations, and Stream B on AI, tech, and innovation in clinical trials.
Opening Keynote on Turning Data Into Strategic Insight
Getting proceedings underway on day one of Stream A, a keynote by Craig Chambliss, CEO and co-founder of Neurelis, will explore the power of clinical data and how study results can be turned into long-term strategic insights, touching on the benefits of post-hoc analyses, teasing out a treatment’s effects on patient subsets, and best practices for generating impactful publications post-study.
Budget Planning and Governance Sessions Within This OCT Southern California Clinical Trials Agenda
Later in Stream A, a panel discussion will focus on building smarter trial budgets by better aligning planning to approval processes, with additional sessions on driving efficiency in clinical development and building flexible site liaison models to strengthen stakeholder relationships.
Strengthening Cross-Functional Governance for Complex Trials
Ndidi Rickert, senior director of GxP compliance at Kardigan Bio, will outline how cross-functional collaboration and governance models can be strengthened to keep complex trials on track and inspection-ready.
AI and Innovation Sessions Within the OCT Southern California Clinical Trials Program
Mid-morning, Stream B will kick off with a keynote from Robert Goldman, global VP of clinical operations at Contraline, focused on how biotechs can shift resource allocation into the right places to drive efficiency and ensure the responsible adoption of AI in clinical trials.
AI for Patient Recruitment and CRO Communication
Other sessions throughout the afternoon in Stream A and B will focus on topics including how AI is finding missing patients for rescue studies and how to effectively communicate specifications with contract research organisations. David Tsai, associate director of program management and clinical operations at Scribe Therapeutics, will provide insights into how innovation can be achieved within CliniOps using AI.
Day Two Sessions Within This OCT Southern California Clinical Trials Conference
Day two sessions include a panel discussion on responsible CRO governance, along with talks on why patients walk away from clinical trials and how to mitigate dropout rates. Additional sessions will focus on ways to accelerate a study’s startup phase and how to drive optimised cost predictability in clinical trials.
A Comprehensive Agenda Spanning Operations and Technology
Together, these two days illustrate how the conference organizers view trial success as increasingly dependent on the interplay between operational discipline, financial planning, and emerging AI applications, rather than any single factor in isolation.
What This OCT Southern California Clinical Trials Conference Means Going Forward
With sessions spanning budget planning, CRO governance, patient retention, and AI-driven patient recruitment across its two-day agenda, this conference offers trial sponsors and operations teams a concentrated look at how leading biotech and pharmaceutical organizations are addressing the industry’s rising cost pressures. Given the dual-stream structure separating outsourcing and operations from AI and innovation, attendees can tailor their focus toward whichever set of challenges, financial and operational efficiency or technology-driven insight generation, most directly affects their own organization’s current priorities.
What to Watch Going Forward
As the September 15-16 conference approaches, industry observers will likely watch which specific AI applications discussed, particularly around finding missing patients for rescue studies and reducing dropout rates, generate the most practical takeaways for sponsors and CROs navigating similar challenges. Given the conference’s emphasis on responsible AI adoption alongside efficiency gains, sessions at this OCT Southern California clinical trials event may offer useful benchmarks for how the broader industry balances innovation with governance as AI becomes more deeply embedded in clinical trial operations.
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