Demand for new drugs and vaccines are driving growth at Pinnacle 21

With over 30 years of experience as an engineer in the life sciences space, Bob Ganski was uniquely equipped to answer Pinnacle 21’s call for a principal software engineer who could “get stuff done.”

The Blue Bell-based company’s clinical data standardization platform streamlines the drug approval process, clearing a more efficient path to getting life-saving drugs and medical devices into the hands of patients. The platform is already used by the FDA, Japan’s PMDA and firms in pharma and biotech. As demand for its services continues to rise, Ganski is in charge of finalizing products in order to get them ready to ship and out the door.

“All of the data our users gather is for proof that a new drug is doing what it is supposed to be doing,” said Ganski. “The challenge is that the data being collected comes in many disparate formats from many different vendors.”

On Pinnacle 21’s platform, users process the data points that come from clinical lab tests and patient questionnaires, cleaning, validating and formatting them for submission to the FDA and other regulatory agencies.

One of Pinnacle 21’s strengths in the industry is its drive to continually optimize these processes.

“The sooner you can find issues with the data, the sooner you can fix it,” said Ganski. “We’ve recently added a new piece that requires vendors to more carefully validate their data before they send it to the pharma sponsoring the study. It takes the process upstream: Sponsors can hold their vendors to more rigorous data specifications, they get their data checked sooner and can deliver feedback to the labs earlier on.”

For Ganski, the timing of his new role couldn’t have been better. His previous employer, a small startup providing cloud-based electronic content management services for companies in the life sciences, had been bought out by a massive, 80,000-person corporation. Culture shock set in quickly and Ganski knew it was time to move on.

“Moving to Pinnacle was like going back to startup culture,” he said. “There’s so much collaboration and cooperation. I have the ability to recommend changes and ideas, and it doesn’t fall on deaf ears like at a bigger company. So there’s the ability to make an actual impact.”

In true COVID-era fashion, Ganski has never actually met his team in person. Hired in May, he has worked remotely with the rest of Pinnacle 21’s 50 employees, since coming on board. Nevertheless, he says he feels right at home.

“The company has hosted a number of virtual get-togethers as a way for all of us to get to know one another,” he said. “It’s got that startup vibe — lively, colorful, collaborative — but it’s organized and the management team is structured.”

Pinnacle 21’s growth shows no signs of stopping, as companies creating potential vaccines for COVID-19 have urgently demanded its services in reducing time to market. The opportunity to make that level of critical impact is what drew Ganski to the company to begin with.

“What attracted me most was the ability to do work that’s meaningful,” he said.

Growth requires more people power. According to Ganski, a great candidate is a go-getter with a startup mentality who takes the initiative to do what needs to get done. He is eager to welcome inquisitive team players who want to make a difference in the world of clinical trials.

Learn more and explore careers at Pinnacle 21