Dr. Aaron Wendelboe is a nationally recognized epidemiologist and public health leader. As one of the four co-founders of Bayesic Technologies, an Oklahoma City startup that provides analytic software, Dr. Wendelboe has also become an entrepreneur.
Bayesic Technologies puts the power of Bayesian statistical modeling directly in the hands of scientists and business people via a user-friendly interface.
Bayesian analytics is a powerful decision-making tool that requires special expertise.
The Bayesian approach provides a framework for combining known information with new data to better inform decision-making. It depends on probability distributions rather than specific data points. It complements rather than replaces traditional statistical modeling.
But here’s the challenge––the logic is complex, the computing is complicated, the data can be massive, and the interpretation of results and the follow-on actions require statisticians to be directly involved.
Still, there are many advantages.
“I am an epidemiologist,” Dr. Wendelboe said. “Early in my career, I asked a Bayesian statistician why it had to be so complex. Would it be possible to make a user-friendly platform for someone who is not a biostatistician?”
Turns out it would. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Bayesic Technologies a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant to create and develop an easy-to-use graphical interface based on Bayesian software. Then Bayesic Technologies was selected for the NIH Innovation-Corps (ICOR) program to continue their process of customer discovery.
“In Phase 1 clinical trials in pharma, three things can happen,” Dr. Wendelboe said. “The drug may not work. If you see that early on, you stop the trial.”
However, he says, if the drug works as designed and the trial does not produce promising results, or if the trial is inconclusive, researchers are obligated to see the study through, regardless of what it appears the outcomes may be.
Dr. Wendelboe continued, “With Bayesian, you can look at your data early and see what is happening. Researchers can stop trials earlier. That can lead to more efficient use of researchers’ time and of budget as a trial can cost $10,000 or more per patient.”
Bayesic Technologies engaged i2E to consult on market research and value proposition.
“They helped us think like business people. The thing most helpful for us is to understand the target metrics we should shoot for as our next goals. How many customers? What volume of sales, and which steps to grow into a larger company? Just what are those business metrics for us?”
Bayesic Technologies offers early-stage trials via download here.
“We see early product market fit in pharma and drug development. Given our background in public health, that is the language we speak. However, during STTR, we found that our tool could be useful to many industries.”
Prototype experience is showing that with the Bayesic Technologies platform, researchers can complete analyses that formerly required hours and multiple software applications, in minutes.
“To summarize,” said Dr. Wendelboe, “our mission is to make technology and data more accessible to a wider audience, and to make it user-friendly and improve people’s experience with science and data as decision-making tools.”
