Evolving Outsourcing Landscape in Pharma R&D: Different Collaborative Models and Factors To Consider When Choosing a Contract Research Organization

A call to rethink the necessity of and challenges facing academic research organizations in the new era of drug innovation in China

The objectives of drug R&D in China have shifted toward innovation and globalization, highlighting the ecological imperative to involve innovative partner-like academic research organizations (AROs). AROs are led by academic institutions and, when compared to contract research organizations (CROs), their strengths lie in promoting academic excellence, knowledge sharing, independence, collaborative networks and industry partnerships. Our desk-based analysis shows that although the service scope of Chinese AROs is similar to that of AROs in the US, they lack experience in broad service provision for innovative drugs, institution-institutional platforms and industry partnerships. We make several suggestions about how to achieve the synergy of academic institutions and industry-based organizations in drug innovation by using a ARO-CRO hybrid service model.

European Medicinal Chemistry Leaders in Industry (EMCL) - On the Status and Future of Medicinal Chemistry Research in Europe

The status of industrial Medicinal Chemistry was discussed with European Medicinal Chemistry Leaders from large to mid-sized pharma and CRO companies as well as biotechs. The chemical modality space has expanded recently from small molecules to address new challenging targets. Besides the classical SAR/SPR optimization of drug molecules also their 'greenness' has increasing importance. The entire pharma discovery ecosystem has developed significantly. Beyond pharma and academia new key players such as Biotech and integrated CROs as well as Digital companies have appeared and are now to a large extend fueled by VC money. Digitalization is happening everywhere but surprisingly did not change speed and success rates of projects so far. Future Medicinal Chemists will still have to be excellent synthetic chemists but in addition they must be knowledgeable in new computational areas such as data sciences. Their ability to collaborate and to work in teams is key.

Role of Radiologists in Contract Research Organizations (CROs)

Clinical trials play a vital role in advancing technology and novel therapies in the healthcare world. However, the increasing scale of trials and the complexity of the regulatory approval process is often a barrier for those interested in conducting research. Contract research organizations (CROs) aim to address this problem by offering their infrastructure and expertise to bring a therapy from conception to approval without the need for in-house staff. Clinical trial imaging often plays an essential role in this process, creating a need for radiologists and a unique opportunity to provide irreplaceable value in their ability to interpret and analyze the imaging outcomes of therapies in question. This paper explores the concept of CROs, the crucial role played by radiologists in their operation, and the nature of the CRO - radiologist relationship.

A commentary on the use of pharmacoenhancers in the pharmaceutical industry and the implication for DMPK drug discovery strategies

Paxlovid, a drug combining nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, was designed for the treatment of COVID-19 and its rapid development has led to emergency use approval by the FDA to reduce the impact of COVID-19 infection on patients.In order to overcome potentially suboptimal therapeutic exposures, nirmatrelvir is dosed in combination with ritonavir to boost the pharmacokinetics of the active product.Here we consider examples of drugs co-administered with pharmacoenhancers.Pharmacoenhancers have been adopted for multiple purposes such as ensuring therapeutic exposure of the active product, reducing formation of toxic metabolites, changing the route of administration, and increasing the cost-effectiveness of a therapy.We weigh the benefits and risks of this approach, examining the impact of technology developments on drug design and how enhanced integration between cross-discipline teams can improve the outcome of drug discovery.

Drug Design: Where We Are and Future Prospects

Medicinal chemistry is facing new challenges in approaching precision medicine. Several powerful new tools or improvements of already used tools are now available to medicinal chemists to help in the process of drug discovery, from a hit molecule to a clinically used drug. Among the new tools, the possibility of considering folding intermediates or the catalytic process of a protein as a target for discovering new hits has emerged. In addition, machine learning is a new valuable approach helping medicinal chemists to discover new hits. Other abilities, ranging from the better understanding of the time evolution of biochemical processes to the comprehension of the biological meaning of the data originated from genetic analyses, are on their way to progress further in the drug discovery field toward improved patient care. In this sense, the new approaches to the delivery of drugs targeted to the central nervous system, together with the advancements in understanding the metabolic pathways for a growing number of drugs and relating them to the genetic characteristics of patients, constitute important progress in the field.

Evaluation of Drug Lags in Development Initiation, New Drug Application and Approval Between Japan and the USA and the Impact of Local Versus Multi-regional Clinical Trials

BACKGROUND

Drug time lags occur between the date that new drugs are first approved, often in the USA, and approval is granted in other countries. Multi-regional clinical trials (MRCTs) are a key strategy for simultaneous global development and regulatory submission of new drugs. However, no studies have evaluated the impact of MRCT versus local development on key time points in the drug development lifecycle between the USA and Japan. It is important for pharmaceutical companies planning drug development in Japan to understand when they can start development, when they can catch up in case of development initiation delay, length of time the development period might take, and amount of time that market exclusivity is lost, if Japan does not participate in the MRCT.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate differences in drug lag in development initiation, New Drug Application (NDA) submission and drug approval, as well as differences in the development and review periods, by local trials and MRCTs between Japan and the USA. We also assessed the advantages and disadvantages of MRCTs for these lags in Japan.

METHODS

We analyzed drug approvals in Japan between 2016 and 2020 and divided them into local and MRCT groups. Lags in development initiation, NDA submission, and approval of new drugs were calculated by subtracting each date in Japan from the corresponding date in the USA. Our study period was divided into three periods based on the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) E17 guideline, published in 2017, and the guideline for the Phase I trials in the Japanese population prior to MRCTs, published in 2014. In addition, subgroup analyses by therapeutic area, regulatory background, modality, capital style, and sales ranking (2020) were conducted.

RESULTS

We analyzed 174 approvals in Japan and the USA. The differences in the drug lags for development initiation, NDA submission, and approval between the local and MRCT groups were 4.9, 3.5, and 3.2 years, respectively. All three lag times were shorter for the MRCT group than the local group. A development initiation lag in the local group has expanded since publication of the guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS

For the people of Japan, important drug lags were identified in development initiation, NDA submission, and drug approval dates between local trials and MRCTs that include Japan. It is difficult to recover fully from the delay caused by local development, and it is important to understand the further expansion of drug lags, in cases where Japan is not involved in the MRCT.

China is facing serious experimental monkey shortage during the COVID-19 lockdown

This report aims to analyze the experimental monkey shortage generated by the COVID‐19 lockdown. The supply capability of the monkey breeding farms is insufficient to meet demand, and the sales prices have skyrocketed since 2018. The contradiction will be further aggravated with import prohibition although the countermeasures suggested.