Summary and outlook to the future

Summary and outlook to the future

Drug discovery is inherently a complex, multidisciplinary endeavor that requires close collaboration of highly skilled professionals, integration of each disciplines output, and relatively long timelines with different stages of development that have stage gates to check the progression of the com-pound to later stages of development and commercialization. This process is also continuously evolving as the drug targets change, pressures on the biopharmaceutical industry increase, and our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms improve. Teamwork and collaboration form the hallmarks of cultural norms required in this high-paced environment. In addition, idiosyncratic cross-functional application plays a unique role in breakthrough drug discovery.

The influences of evolving technologies on drug discovery are evident at all stages. For example, big data and trend analysis is helping in deci-sion making at all stages of development. Greater ability for clinical monitoring and preclinical toxicology assessment is enabling the development of safer drugs and early assessment of potential toxicological liabilities. Increasingly, drugs are being developed in patient-centric manner to serve the needs of given subpopulations of patients.

Recent trends in drug development also highlight the increasing use of the outsourcing model to allow investment of scarce internal resources on the highest-value items. Typical modern-day biopharmaceutical com-panies collaborate with several contract research organizations (CROs), contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), and academia alike to exe-cute just about every step of the drug discovery and development process. Organizations increasingly focus on generating intellectual property and maximizing the speed to market while maintaining and improving product quality outcomes. These internal emphases with external forces make the industry a continuously evolving endeavor.