CPhI Pharma Insights: R&D Report

PR56087

AMSTERDAM, Mar. 7, 2014/PRN=KYODO JBN/--

   - CPhI report shows R&D market diversifying innovation, with increased

     partnerships, mergers and revenue sharing models

   - R&D sector to grow at over 8% driven by new evaluation techniques

   Report highlights:

   - Increased collaboration across industry, with three quarters partnering

     and 20% having merged or acquired an asset in the last year alone

   - Anticancer drugs and antibiotics seen as major disease targets

   - Combination drugs and personalised medicine are the most important novel

     focus areas

   - With nanotechnology and drug devices featuring prominently suggesting

     efforts to improve drug delivery mechanisms

   - Balancing long term and short term goals is still the major challenge for

     half of respondents, with nearly 40% also highlighting improving

     efficiency as a top challenge

   - The rise of measurable ROI in R&D programmes continues with QbD used by  

     40%, 6 sigma by 18%, stage gate and lean by 15 and 12% respectively

   - Commercial scale considerations starting earlier with nearly one third

     bringing in the commercial side at the pre-clinical stage

   - Technology a major source of innovation sharing: over half of all

     companies out-licensing and more than 60% using licensed technology

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130723/629764-a )

   CPhI Worldwide, part of UBM Live's Pharmaceutical Portfolio, announce the

findings of its Pharma Insights report on R&D. Overall the report shows that

the R&D market is diversifying innovation, with increased out/in licensing of

technology, partnerships, and mergers. Improvements in evaluation have also

been credited with helping the sector grow at an impressive 8%, with long-term

objectives now being considered at earlier stages within the development

process.

   Furthermore, the industry is evolving its model, maintaining innovative

output whilst also standardising approaches to measuring effectiveness, and

crucially, returns on investment- with 40% using QbD for analytical and tech,

18% using 6 Sigma, 15% stage gate and 12% lean techniques to evaluate

effectiveness.

   Unsurprisingly, with the milestone nature of moving between clinical stages,

balancing long and short-term goals was seen as a major challenge (53%) and

improving efficiency (38%) also highlighted the growing efforts to improve ROI

between stages. However, a clear trend has emerged from this with more and more

companies involving commercial side at an earlier and earlier stage with 30%

beginning in pre-clinical and a further 30% prior to phase iii.

   Almost a quarter of respondents sighted cancer as a major focus area for

2014, with antibiotics (13%), cardiovascular (12%) and CNS (12%) targets also

featuring notably. Additional evidence for the cancer-focus also emerged from

the novel areas companies are working on, with 37% researching combination

drugs and 20% personalised medicines. Outside of cancer, it appears that

improved drug delivery mechanisms are targeted as 17% were investing in

nanotechnology and 12% directly in drug devices.

   However, the source of innovation is increasingly diverse with growing

partnerships (75%), mergers 20%, and out/in-licensing of technology (55% and

60% respectively). Clearly, a major factor in competitiveness both now and in

the future is access to technology, and we are seeing a more collaborative

approach. This is an important trend and one that should enable the industry to

continually innovate, with cross-pollination of projects, where even the

smallest biotech can access crucial technology that enable them to move

projects forward.

   "With product development processes being increasingly managed through

quality and control methods, the cost of and access to technology will be the

essential access point on many projects ultimate viability," Chris Kilbee,

Group Director Pharma.

   Highlighting the need for access to new techniques and technologies, 33% of

respondents were partnering with research institutes, a further 15% with

research-focussed companies and 10% with universities.

   Drawing all these findings together the report concludes there is a clear

desire amongst all companies to ensure future R&D spend is prudent and focused

on bringing future products to market faster- and not just innovative targets.

Monitoring processes more prescriptively and standardising approaches should

enable a quicker transfer between phases. Most interesting for the future, we

are now witnessing an 'open innovation approach' to technology- which will

enable reduced R&D timelines and better results.

   Chris Kilbee added: "What we are now seeing is the maturation of the R&D

sector having gone through a period of change over the last few years with

innovation moving down stream from big pharma. However, we are now at a point

where innovation is coming in from new and more diverse fields as different

areas of science collaborate and bring new techniques into pharma production.

This trend coupled with a commitment to tackle long term project viabilities,

alongside standardised methods for practice, should help reduce bottlenecks in

the pipeline and bring more targets to market in a more cost effective manner.

It is a really exciting period for the R&D sector with new ideas,

nanotechnology and manufacturing techniques and process bringing a new rigour

and commercial focus to future projects."

   About CPhI

   CPhI drives growth and innovation at every step of the global pharmaceutical

supply chain from drug discovery to finished dosage. Through exhibitions,

conferences and online communities, CPhI brings together more than 100,000

pharmaceutical professionals each year to network, identify business

opportunities and expand the global market. CPhI hosts events in Europe, China,

India, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Istanbul, Russia and South America and

co-locates with ICSE for contract services, P-MEC for machinery, equipment &

technology, InnoPack for pharmaceutical packaging and BioPh for biopharma. CPhI

provides an online buyer & supplier directory at CPhI-Online.com.

   For more information visit: http://www.cphi.com

   The UBM Live annual schedule of Pharmaceutical events also includes CPhI,

ICSE, P-MEC, BioPh and Pharmatec Japan (9-11 April, 2014 at the Big Sight

Exhibition Centre- Tokyo); CPhI Russia and IPhEB (16-17 April, 2014 at the

Lenexpo Exhibition Complex- St Petersburg, Russia); CPhI, P-MEC and Innopack

South East Asia (20-22 May, 2014 at the Jakarta International Expo- Jakarta,

Indonesia); CPhI Istanbul (4-6 June, 2014, at the Lutfi Kirdar Convention and

Exhibition Centre- Turkey); CPhI, Hi and Fi, ICSE, P-MEC, BioPh and LabWorld

China (26-28 June, 2014 at SNIEC- Shanghai, China); CPhI South America (5-7

August 2014 at Expo Centre Norte, Sao Paulo- Brazil); CPhI, ICSE Korea (2-3

September, 2014 at the COEX- Seoul, South Korea); CPhI, ICSE, P-MEC and

InnoPack Worldwide (7-9 October 2014, Paris Nord Villepinte- France); CPhI and

P-MEC India (2-4 December, 2014 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre- Mumbai).

   About UBM Live

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   For media enquiries, please contact:

   Alex Heeley or Tristan Jervis    

   De Facto Communications

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   SOURCE: UBM Live