A conversation with Suvoda CEO Jagath Wanninayake Author: Elena Filimonova, Chief Marketing Officer
Snapshot:
Just a few years ago, AI in clinical trials was largely a theoretical conversation. Today, it’s an operational reality. I recently sat down with Suvoda CEO, Jagath Wanninayake, to talk about the future of clinical trial technology.
We discussed how Suvoda’s work to support rigorous, compliant, and patient-centered clinical trials gained new momentum this year with several AI advancements. Faster study startup, more seamless patient journeys, and smarter drug supply management: all of these serve the same enduring mission of getting proven therapies to patients.
Jagath’s philosophy for how Suvoda is approaching AI rests on an idea: resist the temptation to layer new technology on top of old thinking.
He points to a useful historical parallel. When electricity arrived at the turn of the 20th century, many factories simply replaced their steam engines with electric motors and carried on as before. The results were modest. The factories that pulled ahead were the ones that stopped and asked a harder question: now that we have this fundamentally different technology, how would we design everything from the ground up?
“The companies that succeeded weren’t the ones that swapped the steam engine for an electric motor. They were the ones that rethought how the factory works.”
That is the spirit driving Suvoda’s AI strategy. The goal is not to automate existing processes and declare progress. It is to go back to first principles, and ask what is possible now.
A clear example of that first-principles thinking in action is Suvoda’s recent announcement of a new approach to study build using agentic randomization and trial supply management (RTSM). Rather than simply tweaking existing processes, the team asked what study setup could look like if it were designed for an AI-native world. The answer: system setup from kickoff to user acceptance testing (UAT) in as little as two weeks. For study teams under pressure to activate sites and get patients enrolled, that kind of compression is not incremental. It changes what is possible.
“What we’ve done with agentic RTSM is a good example of what happens when you stop optimizing an old process and start imagining a new one,” Jagath said. “The technology made it possible. But the willingness to rethink from scratch is what got us there.”
Another example is Sofia, Suvoda’s AI assistant, which reimagines how users engage with complex trial information altogether. Sofia boosts productivity for operations teams by quickly surfacing the key information that teams need right when they need it, and supporting over 40 actions within the RTSM system to assist trial management. Suvoda's technical foundation, including its patented, low-code/no-code architecture, provides the springboard for these capabilities.
While it is imperative that clinical trial technology is innovative and works well, AI may be shifting part of that equation. AI models are available to everyone. The question is no longer just who has the superior technology infrastructure. It is who can apply what they know with the most speed, precision, and human judgment.
“What may become rare is human judgment, context, and domain knowledge in this particular industry."
This is where our history becomes a significant asset, and where its people set it apart. Ask Suvoda's customers what they value most, and the answer is rarely just the software. It is the teams behind the tech. Suvoda hires and trains specialists who develop expertise in clinical trials and the therapeutic areas in which their customers work. Many sponsors and CROs work with the same Suvoda team from study startup through closeout, building relationships and institutional knowledge that compounds over time. That continuity is not accidental. It is a deliberate commitment to being a true partner across the life of a trial, not just a vendor at the point of sale.
Suvoda's people have collectively supported over 6000 clinical trials across more than 115 countries, navigating the regulatory requirements and protocol complexities of every major therapeutic area. That accumulated expertise lives in the teams, processes, knowledge bases, and the data that are used to make the judgment calls that happen every day. No AI model or organization can acquire that expertise overnight.
AI at Suvoda is designed to free our people. The goal is to take the repetitive, time-consuming work off the plate of experienced people so they can focus on the deeply consultative work that customers require. Humans are always in the loop. AI handles the groundwork; people handle the thinking.
The opportunity Jagath describes is pairing that hard-won clinical trial expertise with AI's capacity for execution. The added value that Suvoda’s people provide is helping to anticipate customer and trial needs and solve any issues that arise with speed and wisdom.
"We have regulatory credibility that took years to build," he noted. "We have domain expertise at scale and deep customer relationships. Combined with AI, those become the foundation of something that is genuinely difficult to replicate."
While much of the attention around AI has centered on automation and speed, Jagath highlighted an additional benefit: improving how people actually interact with technology on a day-to-day basis.
Clinical trial systems are complex by design. They handle roles, permissions, blinding, outcomes data, complex supply chains, and regional regulations—but that complexity can make it difficult for people to quickly navigate systems and find the information they need.
AI can help simplify the user experience. Sofia is an example of how. Rather than navigating layered reports and multiple clicks to find information, users can interact with Sofia through a natural, conversational interface. Sofia understands who the user is, what permissions they hold, and what data they are authorized to see, then surfaces the right information.
Sofia is moving beyond surfacing information toward becoming a true operational interface. Sofia will allow trial teams to act on and manage key aspects of their trial directly through natural language. Need to deactivate all sites in a country, activate drug ordering for multiple markets at once, or withhold a lot across all countries? Teams will be able to instruct Sofia conversationally and confirm the action, with validation and guardrails built into every step. It is a meaningful shift in how clinical trial technology gets used—from navigating a system to simply telling it what you need.
“It’s about letting the technology disappear,” Jagath shared. “What remains is the insight, delivered in a way that feels intuitive and human.”
Clinical research operates under a higher standard than many industries and for good reason. Data integrity, patient safety, and protocol adherence are not negotiable. Suvoda’s approach to AI is built around that reality.
“We know that 99% accuracy isn’t good enough in our world,” Jagath said. “We need 100% accuracy and full auditability.”
What that looks like in practice is that every answer generated by Sofia or action taken by agents must be correct and traceable. We are creating AI tools that explain underlying logic and preserve the integrity of clinical data and processes, producing answers that hold up to scientific scrutiny and regulatory review.
If the early days of AI were met with hesitation, the mood has shifted considerably. “It’s played out like previous moments of human innovation,” Jagath observed. “Take the automobile when it was first invented. Some places required a person to walk ahead of the car with a red flag to warn people and horses. With AI, in just 18 months, we’ve gone from customers being hesitant about AI to sharing their excitement about adopting new AI tools for their trials.”
While Jagath is enthusiastic about the possibilities that AI presents, he adds that Suvoda is moving forward with care and a human touch, as our customers expect. Speed matters, but not at the expense of trial integrity and patient safety.
More than any specific AI capability, what grounds Jagath’s outlook is an enduring sense of purpose.
“Our vision, our mission, and our values remain the same. Those are the three pillars that are most important in transformational times.”
Suvoda’s work ahead is focused on systems that are responsive, intuitive, and suited to the time-sensitive, high-stakes environment of clinical research. The combination of deep domain expertise and AI capability is a meaningful one for customers. For the patients waiting on the other end of every trial, the progress cannot come fast enough.
Elena Filimonova
Chief Marketing Officer,
Suvoda
Jagath Wanninayake
Chief Executive Officer,
Suvoda