Whiteboards at a former gsk site

Whiteboards at a former GSK site: A good argument for using mobile devices?

Sean Ekins

Summary

• Oct 20 2012 - Triangle Modernist Houses arranged a public tour of the former Burroughs-Wellcome Elion-Hitchings Building in RTP, NC. http://bit.ly/QRPV0X

• This was last owned by GSK who exited in 2011• I signed a personal injury waiver• What I found lead to a blog http://bit.ly/QDAnA7• Herein are the photos of the whiteboards with some interpretation• These represent a historical and perhaps artistic document circa

2011 • I suggest in the age of mobile devices, tablets and Apps– are

whiteboards to become extinct because they represent a temporary and non secure way to capture ideas?

Scientific Whiteboards

• These appear to be informatics related• I recognized several cheminformatics and bioinformatics

related tools• I welcome feedback on re-interpretation on the whiteboards• There were no whiteboard pens or erasers in any office so it

appears that all photographs represent content that was genuine as left by GSK staff

• While I do not think the data shown here is particularly sensitive it is insightful

• I do not think what is portrayed here is unique to GSK but may represent a broader picture of pharma

This looks like an organizational chart of informatics related tools and those responsible for supporting them with attempts to integrate or simplify them and how they are connected. 13 unique staff names on left and 9 on right involved in new projectsSuggests they use IDBS activityBase for screening data, WinNonLin. ChemDraw is deleted so may suggest they removed support for itTheir own tools include SAMURAI, ICARUS, CHAS, iPlan, CRISP, SARTools (structure activity relationship)RaaS may represent compound registration as a service?

WB 1

Probably a bioinformatics database related project (Kate?) requiring capture of public synonymsLooks like they want to measure how its used by tracking the number of times viewed, number and size of entities

WB 2

This highly schematic diagram appears to describe a database called Inca and creation of Adamantis. Could the solid blue line represent a dose response relationship and determining EC50? They appear to be taking actives from one database and maybe querying another? Several images look like data tables.

WB 3

This board is segmented – describing development related tools including FishEye, INFORM2, DecisionView, trident, clinical investigator portals, also use of Sharepoint and LabWare which is laboratory information management software http://bit.ly/VzqVTQ - staff responsible – lists 13 namesPPD and Parexel are clinical research organizations http://bit.ly/RSvJ0e so this board may explain the external relationships..looks like there is a mention of Apps in PPD boxSo may describe back and forth movement of clinical data from LIMS in GSK to CROs and then signoff of the data for GCP/GLP

WB 4

The board briefly describes SAMURAI, probably some structure activity relationship web-based viewing interface developed in house from other components. Bottom right diagram indicates use of Spotfire and internet explorer – how data is moved from one tool to another and some programming code shorthand.Delphi may be a predecessor tool – and it looks like they are aiming for SAMURAI to be around for some time

WB 5

This person was a heavy whiteboard user due to the ink staining and involved in Business IT support. The text is unclear but there is mention of Starting after INDThe smaller board describes something published in 90 days and registries

WB 6+7

Artistic

• These represent non scientific images but themselves are quite interesting

• Parting notes

Inset – detail from image above – note spelling of biology, the small koala is standing on 4 books, brass, music, taps, trumpet..Very Keith Haring like, http://bit.ly/X8IcBg recurring pattern and animalAmusing and sad

WB 8

Monet like, ghostly trees in foreground and sun above http://bit.ly/RisWhD

WB 9

Minimalist sunset / sunrise

WB 10

Summary

• Circa 2011 GSK were spending significant resources on integrating databases and software tools both for preclinical and clinical projects.

• Over 26 people in total could be gleaned from 2 whiteboards dealing with clinical and preclinical IT

• It looks like they were trying to simplify available tools and databases

• Possibly mobile apps get a mention on the clinical side, maybe related to data capture by CROs?

Observations and Recommendations• The information contained on the whiteboards could

have been retained if they had either taken pictures (as here) or used a mobile device / tablet to sketch ideas

• These ideas could have then been shared with the intended recipients

• Using whiteboards unintentionally shared this data with everyone walking through and the next company to use the building

• Companies vacating buildings should clean whiteboards of any work related information

Acknowledgments

• David Kroll – for the ticket• The volunteers of Triangle Modernist Houses

who made it possible• The authors/ artists of the various

whiteboards