In 1854, a devastating cholera outbreak swept through London’s Soho district. Within days, hundreds had fallen ill, and many had died. The accepted theory at the time was that “miasma” — bad air — was to blame. But Dr John Snow, a physician with an eye for evidence, had a different idea.
According to Corlytics, snow began mapping each reported cholera case, plotting them as dots across the city. As his map filled in, clusters began to form around one point — the Broad Street water pump. This was no coincidence. By tracing the outbreak’s epicentre through data, Snow realised contaminated water, not air, was the real culprit.
There was one oddity: women and children were more likely to fall ill than men. Florence Nightingale, working nearby, treated many of these patients. The mystery deepened until Snow discovered that many men in the area received a daily beer ration — a safer alternative to the tainted water. Once authorities removed the pump handle, the cases plummeted.
Fast-forward 170 years, and data is still saving lives. Today, health and life sciences rely on data analytics, AI diagnostics, genomic sequencing and real-time health monitoring. While the tools have advanced beyond Snow’s map of dots, the principle remains — visualising and analysing data reveals patterns that drive life-saving decisions.
Yet, with progress comes complexity. The health sector now faces a growing web of regulations and compliance requirements. This is where Corlytics’ regulatory intelligence comes in, offering a modern “map” for compliance teams.
Just as Snow’s map exposed the link between water and disease, Corlytics helps organisations see connections between regulatory updates, compliance obligations and risk exposure. Each enforcement action or policy update represents another “dot” on the regulatory map. Analysed together, these data points reveal emerging risks, compliance gaps and evolving regulatory themes such as AI in medical devices or patient safety.
Corlytics empowers firms to move from reactive compliance to proactive insight — identifying potential risks before they escalate, much like spotting the Broad Street pump before an outbreak begins.
Regulators themselves are now becoming increasingly data-driven. Initiatives such as the European Medicines Agency’s DARWIN and the US FDA’s Sentinel System reflect a growing trend toward AI-powered regulatory oversight. In this evolving environment, Corlytics’ platform enables organisations to visualise regulatory analytics and apply machine learning to transform fragmented global regulations into coherent risk narratives.
The result is smarter, evidence-based decision-making across compliance, risk and governance. By providing a unified view of global regulatory intelligence, Corlytics helps firms navigate the growing volume and complexity of rules that shape the life sciences and healthcare industries.
Just as Dr Snow’s simple map transformed public health, Corlytics turns regulatory chaos into clarity. The replica of the Broad Street pump still stands today as a reminder of how data and evidence can change the course of history — a principle Corlytics continues to uphold in the digital age.
At its core, the company believes that understanding risk through data is the foundation of safer systems, stronger compliance and healthier outcomes for all.
Copyright © 2025 RegTech Analyst
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