Each year, on the 20th of May, the global health community celebrates International Clinical Trials Day, the anniversary of James Lind’s famous scurvy experiment in 1747 on H.M.S. Salisbury. Lind’s discovery – that sufferers of the disease recovered faster if they included citrus fruits in their diet – is considered one of the earliest examples of a successful controlled clinical trial. Craig Johnston at Automata and Richard Young at Vault CDMS show how important it is that the industry continues to strive for improvements in the trial process, looking to the future at how we can continue to innovate and adapt to improve trial outcomes for all involved.