Genomeweb daily news mentioned a TCSDD study that talks about big pharma emerging from its issues with R&D productivity. Acceording to the report, the number of new clinical trials have increased by more than 50% since 2002 (this after a 21% decline from 1998-2002).
This is definitely encouraging news. Big pharma seems to be doing more licensing to strengthen pipelines (25% of compounds in development are in-licensed now), and also doing a much better job with using technology. What was also encouraging that that a lot of the new drugs were not necessarily “lifestyle” drugs, but those targeted at real diseases. The genomeweb article mentions that while the study did not specifically target the causes for the growth, there was a lot of anecdotal evidence suggesting that genomic technologies and methodologies were playing a key role.
Just a few years ago, many were concerned about the lack of improvement in productivity that had been anticipated from genomics. I can think of a number of reason for the negativity. Unrealistically high expectations probably tops the list, but one also needs to be cognizant of the drug development lifecycle. Genomics as a field with value to pharma is only 6-7 years old and some of the better techniques have only come into vogue in the last few years. It takes a long time for a drug to reach the clinic, and I suspect that we are only beginning to see the benefit. While it would be unrealistic to think that genomics and proteomics are going to change the pharma industry overnight, the returns from genomics-based drug development will begin to bear fruit for all to see over the next 5-10 years. The following decade is going to see an explosion of genomics-based drug development, which will be essential for the kinds of targeted treatments that the pharma industry must adopt for sustainable success.
Technorati Tags: Pharma, Genomics, Clinical Trials
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[...] This week’s excerpt is from business|bytes|genes|molecules: Just a few years ago, many were concerned about the lack of improvement in productivity that had been anticipated from genomics. I can think of a number of reason for the negativity. Unrealistically high expectations probably tops the list, but one also needs to be cognizant of the drug development lifecycle. Genomics as a field with value to pharma is only 6-7 years old and some of the better techniques have only come into vogue in the last few years. It takes a long time for a drug to reach the clinical, and I suspect that we are only beginning to see the benefit. While it would be unrealistic to think that genomics and proteomics are going to change the pharma industry overnight, in the next 5-10 years, the returns from genomics-based drug development will begin to bear fruit for all to see, and the next decade is going to see an explosion of genomics-based drug development, which will be essential for the kinds of targeted treatments that the pharma industry must adopt for sustainable success. [...]
[...] For the past year, I have featured blogs every Sunday that shared personal stories and opinions about various health topics, including ADD, bulimia and binge eating, and stuttering. Today, I’m introducing a new series called Gene Talk which will feature excerpts from blogs talking about genetics, genes, and/or DNA.This week’s excerpt is from business|bytes|genes|molecules: Just a few years ago, many were concerned about the lack of improvement in productivity that had been anticipated from genomics. I can think of a number of reason for the negativity. Unrealistically high expectations probably tops the list, but one also needs to be cognizant of the drug development lifecycle. Genomics as a field with value to pharma is only 6-7 years old and some of the better techniques have only come into vogue in the last few years. It takes a long time for a drug to reach the clinical, and I suspect that we are only beginning to see the benefit. While it would be unrealistic to think that genomics and proteomics are going to change the pharma industry overnight, in the next 5-10 years, the returns from genomics-based drug development will begin to bear fruit for all to see, and the next decade is going to see an explosion of genomics-based drug development, which will be essential for the kinds of targeted treatments that the pharma industry must adopt for sustainable success. [...]