8
OPINION
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Biochemical and cellular screening along with the
data management infrastructure offers pharmaceutical organisations clear benefits. Being able to turn data around faster and test across multiple targets, scientists can prevent the progression of inappropriate chemical series, identify unexpected leads and ultimately accelerate the research on promising compounds. Additionally,
Roger Clark
“The centralisation of biochemical screening can accelerate decision- making in early drug discovery. Improved data
centralisation provides the ability for more flexible use of resources, allowing a rapid, immediate response to changing business demands. It also enables best practices to be employed across assay delivery since the number of different teams generating data is reduced. As a consequence, consistency is increased.
turnaround can be addressed with the deployment of a laboratory information management system (LIMS) as part of a centralisation strategy."
The benefits of centralisation are better realised and further enhanced when implementing a purpose-built, highly configurable LIMS for discovery and research, such as Nautilus LIMS. Organisations can take advantage of the inherent capability of the system (together with the option to further extend functionality using industry standard programming languages) to grow with and adapt to emerging business needs. u
Trish Meek
Roger Clark is a Senior Scientist within the Cancer & Infection Department at AstraZeneca, Macclesfield, Cheshire, UK. Trish Meek is Director of Product Strategy, Life Sciences at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
www.thermo.com/informatics
MICRODOSING GAINING ACCEPTANCE
icrodosing or Phase 0 clinical testing has been gaining acceptance and might become an imperative phase of the drug development process in the years to come. The emergence of niche capability providers in preclinical testing and technology dependence is also expected to result in numerous partnerships and alliances, fuelling growth opportunities in this sector. “There is every reason to believe that the solution for faster screening of candidates and increasing pressure on costs is gaining momentum in the right direction,” says Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst V Sriram. “The compelling advantages of microdosing present it as a potential remedy for big pharma’s maladies regarding declining returns from investments in drug development.” Alliances between contract research
M
organisations (CROs) in the US and Europe have not historically been common. This is due to several factors including the industry’s strong growth and relatively low technology demands for clinical testing. However, developments in microdosing
should see a number of opportunities being investigated. Consolidation within the CRO space has led to concerns over the quality of service and attention to detail. Companies must however ensure the quality of their services to maintain their bargaining power with the pharmaceutical companies “CROs face the challenge of
competitively aligning their services to meet customer needs in order to overcome the threat of losing their stronghold and loyalty,” comments Sriram Developing the technological know-how and expertise on niche capabilities will help CROs retain their client base. This can be achieved in-house or by partnerships with pioneers in the provision of niche capability, allowing for the creation of a one-stop shop solution. Strategic Analysis of Opportunities in
the CRO Market - Phase 0 is part of the Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology Growth Partnership Service programme, which also includes research in the following markets: European Biosimilars Market Outlook, European Vaccines Market, U.S. Contract Research Outsourcing Markets.
www.scientistlive.com
Meanwhile, early detection is the key focus of cancer diagnostics. Traditional testing methods such as immunoassay testing are facing fierce competition from evolving segments such as nucleic acid amplification technology (NAT) and immunohistochemistry testing. The ability to prove the clinical utility and practical use of the test within a laboratory is one of the essential requirements to be successful in this market. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan,
European Cancer IVD Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $623.5 million in 2008 and estimates this to reach $1.5 billion in 2015. The increased prevalence of cancer
has resulted in the development of novel technologies that support the effective diagnosis of cancer. Rising awareness, paralleled by the mounting use of cancer screening tests will promote the growth of the European cancer IVD market over the long term. u
For more information, visit
www.pharma.frost.com or www.drugdiscovery
.frost.com
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