Datavant and Navidence partner to support real-world evidence studies using computable operational definitions

Datavant and Navidence have announced a partnership to integrate Computable Operational Definitions (CODefs) libraries into Datavant’s healthcare data platform, with the aim of supporting more consistent study design and more efficient real-world evidence (RWE) generation for life sciences research.

The collaboration will combine Navidence’s CODefs libraries with Datavant’s end-to-end healthcare data platform, enabling researchers to apply standardized, computable study definitions across real-world datasets within a secure environment. The companies say the integration is intended to streamline how study protocols are translated into operational criteria, helping reduce complexity and improve consistency in RWE studies.

The use of real-world data (RWD) in clinical research and health economics has expanded significantly in recent years. However, translating protocol-defined study criteria into computable logic remains complex and resource-intensive. Defining diseases, treatments, and other key study variables typically requires building and validating detailed code lists and algorithms across epidemiology, data science, informatics, and biostatistics teams. These efforts often require cross-functional coordination and can take weeks to complete, potentially delaying study startup and introducing variability in how key concepts are defined across studies and datasets.

Navidence develops technology designed to support the design and implementation of RWD-based research studies. Its CODef approach provides standardized definitions of key study elements, including code lists, in formats that are both human- and machine-readable, enabling more consistent and computable representations of clinical concepts across datasets.

Further insights into how CODefS are developed and applied in global RWE studies are discussed in our interview with Aaron Kamauu and Michael Buck on the creation and management of CODefs.

Aaron Kamauu, CEO and co-founder of Navidence, highlighted the role of standardized definitions in enabling more effective use of RWD:

“There’s an enormous opportunity to unlock and increase the use of RWD by more precisely aligning that data to our research questions. With this partnership with Datavant, we are able to integrate our CODefs to reduce the burden and increase the precision of defining what researchers need from RWD and allow Datavant’s analytics solutions to evaluate their robust RWD ecosystem to meet those research use cases.”

Datavant’s platform provides secure access to a large network of healthcare data sources, including more than 350 data partners and over 80,000 hospitals and clinics in the US. Through this network, researchers can source, link, and analyze datasets spanning multiple care settings.

Within this ecosystem, curated CODef libraries are intended to provide a reusable and standardized reference for defining diseases, treatments, and clinical measures. These definitions can support cohort identification, data evaluation, and evidence generation across studies and teams.

Sara Livengood, senior vice president of life sciences product at Datavant, said that:

“As RWD networks expand, the ability to define and operationalize study criteria becomes foundational to effective insights and evidence generation.”

Livengood added that integrating Navidence’s CODef libraries will help align study design with downstream data activation and analysis workflows, helping life sciences teams “produce evidence more consistently across a diverse set of studies and research questions.”