Deep Dive: R&D Innovation

Pharma is changing, but is it changing enough? That’s the question that those at the forefront of R&D innovation are asking these days.

Just because the drug development model has stayed mostly the same for decades, that’s not to say it is working.

To explore how pharmaceutical research could evolve, we’re highlighting several forward-thinking companies in this issue of Deep Dive: R&D Innovation, and it’s encouraging to see that many of them believe in the same solutions – namely altering the R&D process right from the beginning, harnessing digital tech and keeping patients in mind.

IDEA Pharma’s Mike Rea and Alexander Gray speak about their philosophy of identifying as many paths to market as possible around phase 2, and not getting stuck on a ‘conveyor belt’ to inadequate phase 3 trial results.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson’s global head of external innovation William Hait describes how he has been changing the way the company’s researchers think about innovation, and we also hear from Spire Health about how they are addressing the key problems with using wearable tech in clinical trials.

And of course, all of this change must be made with the needs of the patient in mind. Those with rare diseases are often especially cognisant of this, so it seemed appropriate to highlight these patients in time for this year’s Rare Disease Day.

Havas Lynx Faze discuss how talking to patients could be a huge innovation in recruitment, and we speak to Sean Richardson and Dr Charles De Wet from Alexion to find out how they are tackling the challenges in developing orphan drugs.

We also hear from two advocates whose families have been affected by orphan diseases – Seth Rotberg, whose mother has Huntington’s Disease, and Ana Velosa, whose son has Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) – about how best to meet patient needs.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Deep Dive.

Kind regards,
George

George Underwood – Editor, Deep Dive: R&D Innovation