Abstract

CROs and the Changing Paradigm of Drug Discovery

Christine Brideau, Vice President, WuXi AppTec

Drug discovery is undergoing a marked transformation in light of the rising R&D costs, the lack of productivity from Big Pharma and the increasing pressures from healthcare payers to control drug costs. Big Pharma has significantly reduced its internal R&D resources over the past 10 years and have shifted a significant proportion of the drug discovery work to Contract Research Organizations (CRO). They have also formed alliances and partnerships with academia for target identification and validation. Through the NIH Molecular Libraries Program (MLPCN) and other academic endeavors, there has been a significant investment in high throughput screening in academia which has resulted in the discovery of valuable probe molecules useful for target validation and kick starting an early discovery project. The biotech sector is booming from an increase in funding from venture capital investments and is employing CROs to enhance their projects. With all these factors in play, outsourcing of drug discovery has become an essential service and CROs have become an integral partner in the drug discovery process.