Author: Elena Filimonova, Chief Marketing Officer
Snapshot:
In today’s clinical trials, complexity is often the norm. But Suvoda CEO Jagath Wanninayake believes it doesn’t have to be. I recently sat down with Jagath to hear his view on what’s holding clinical research back, why the industry needs to focus on mission-critical, time-sensitive moments of clinical trials, and how Suvoda’s merger with Greenphire supports that focus.
Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities within clinical trials today, and what role does clinical trial technology play in addressing those challenges?
Jagath: At a basic level, clinical research struggles with the same frustrating coordination challenges that we see in the broader healthcare industry. When a patient is dealing with a major health issue, they want to focus on treatment and wellbeing. But instead, they have to navigate confusing requirements, paperwork, and systems. The same can happen in a clinical trial. Patients have signed up to help advance medical research but then are met with a fragmented set of processes, timelines, and technologies. They have to travel to distant sites, deal with experimental drugs, answer questionnaires at specific times, and try to keep everything organized. This can become overwhelming and lead to patients dropping out of the study early.
And behind the scenes, site and study teams must learn to use many different types of technology like randomization, consent, and eCOA systems, payment and financial tools—all built by different vendors. This means they are constantly re-entering data, managing multiple logins, and trying to coordinate care across systems that don’t talk to each other. That fragmentation creates inefficiencies, opportunities for human error, and naturally, frustration. These pain points for patients and study teams create friction and can ultimately slow down a trial’s timeline or impact a trial’s performance.
Q: What parts of a trial are most affected by that friction?
Jagath: The moments that are both mission-critical and time-sensitive. Those are the moments where you can’t afford a delay or a mistake. Think about a patient showing up for a visit: Are they arriving frustrated because they had to pay for travel expenses out-of-pocket? Is their treatment drug at the site? Are they answering the right questionnaires? If any part of that process is broken, it can impact the patient’s care and the integrity of the trial.
We think those critical moments are where we can make a big difference and are what we are uniquely positioned to solve—they’re our sweet spot. It’s not just about streamlining technology. It’s about making sure the right interventions happen at the right time, without unnecessary obstacles. That’s how we reduce the burden on sites and keep patients committed to their trial journey.
Q: How does the Greenphire-Suvoda merger help address those trial challenges?
Jagath: When we looked at Greenphire, we saw a company focused on removing different, but equally critical, barriers for patients. Suvoda has traditionally focused on removing hurdles during a patient’s clinical trial experience, like making sure the right patient gets the right drug or questionnaire at the right time. Greenphire has focused on making sure the patient can get to the site in the first place and can afford to participate in the trial.
When we looked at our respective strengths and solutions, it was clear that we were each addressing time-sensitive, patient-centered challenges—from different and complementary angles. Our merger is a way to extend our impact, not duplicate it. Together, we can help patients throughout their whole trial experience—including easy consenting, scheduling visits, managing travel, answering questionnaires, and requesting reimbursements.
Q: What does the future look like as a combined company?
Jagath: Our company’s goal is to ease the experience for patients at every point in their journey—whether that’s operational, logistical, or financial. We want to make clinical trials more responsive, more connected, and easier for patients to stay enrolled. To accomplish that we are unifying our combined solutions on the state-of-the-art Suvoda Platform—where systems work together in real time, where users have access to the right data without having to hunt for it, and where we can support patients with as little delay and complexity as possible.
For site teams, who carry the day-to-day load of running a trial, we want our tech to reduce their stress, not add to it. That’s why we put so much energy into building user-friendly products and intuitive interfaces. Our hope is that sites feel a sense of relief when they hear a sponsor has chosen Suvoda. That way, they're more likely to say yes to that sponsor's next trial and make them a sponsor of choice.
Ultimately, patients are at the heart of everything we do. They are in one of the most difficult moments of their lives and need to focus on their health—not on navigating paperwork or managing logistics. Participating in a clinical trial is a meaningful endeavor. They are helping to advance treatments for themselves and for others facing the same condition. Our teams are focused on making their journey easier, more straightforward, and less overwhelming.
Q: What gives you confidence that this vision is achievable?
Jagath: The alignment between our two organizations has been clear from the start. We may have approached the problem from different sides, but both teams are passionate about the same thing: reducing the burdens that patients, sites, and sponsors experience in clinical trials so that we can advance human health.
We’re not starting from scratch. We’re building on strong foundations that already serve thousands of clinical trials around the world.
And more broadly, I'm glad to see the industry recognizing that unified solutions and patient-centered technology aren’t just nice to have—they’re essential for what’s next in clinical research.
Q: If you had to sum it up, what does success look like in this next chapter for Suvoda?
Jagath: Success means sponsors can run trials with fewer delays. Sites can work more efficiently. And patients can focus on their health—not the hurdles around participation. If we can look back and say we made those critical moments smoother, faster, and more human—that’s how we’ll know we’re on the right track.