A trip to an old GSK building revealed whiteboards that had not been cleaned - this presentation has photos

1. Whiteboards at a former GSK site: A good
argument for using mobile devices?
Sean Ekins

2. 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?

3. 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

4. WB 1
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 projects
Suggests they use IDBS activityBase for screening data, WinNonLin. ChemDraw is
deleted so may suggest they removed support for it
Their own tools include SAMURAI, ICARUS, CHAS, iPlan, CRISP, SARTools (structure
activity relationship)
RaaS may represent compound registration as a service?

5. WB 2
Probably a bioinformatics database related project (Kate?) requiring capture of public
synonyms
Looks like they want to measure how its used by tracking the number of times viewed,
number and size of entities

6. WB 3
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.

7. WB 4
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 names
PPD 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
box
So may describe back and forth movement of clinical data from LIMS in GSK to CROs
and then signoff of the data for GCP/GLP

8. WB 5
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

9. WB 6+7
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 IND
The smaller board describes something published in 90 days and registries

10. Artistic
• These represent non scientific images but
themselves are quite interesting
• Parting notes

11. WB 8
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 animal
Amusing and sad

12. WB 9
Monet like, ghostly trees in foreground and sun above http://bit.ly/RisWhD

13. WB 10
Minimalist sunset / sunrise

14. 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?

15. 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

16. Acknowledgments
• David Kroll – for the ticket
• The volunteers of Triangle Modernist Houses
who made it possible
• The authors/ artists of the various
whiteboards