Report reveals ‘urgent need’ for improved drug discovery productivity
A new report by two UK bioscience organisations suggests that despite great strengths, the UK drug discovery community needs urgent action to make it more productive.
The joint report, State of the Discovery Nation 2018, by the Medicines Discovery Catapult and the BioIndustry Association is the first survey of UK drug discovery since the launch of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy in 2017, and focused on the SME community. It suggests the UK has great strengths in its scientific foundations. However, at a time of unprecedented industry change, urgent action is needed to make the R&D model more productive.
Chris Molloy, Chief Executive of the Medicines Discovery Catapult, said: “The UK has a strong heritage in medicines R&D and a high-profile strategy for our industry. However, in a globally competitive environment, we must now pull together nationally to support the innovators and build the best ecosystem for medicines discovery in the world.”
The report, based on surveys and over 100 in-depth interviews with senior executives of UK drug discovery companies, shows that global R&D productivity is under unprecedented pressure. With the financial burden of disease rising faster than GDP due to an ageing population and the rise of chronic diseases, there is an urgent need for more cost-effective medicine development. Despite this, around 40% of new drugs fail when they are first trialled in a patient and the majority fail at other stages of development. As a result, the number of drugs launched per $1billion of R&D spend has fallen nearly thirtyfold over the last 40 years.
The report also found that the UK’s R&D community is highly fragmented in life sciences. Universities, teaching hospitals, medical charities, large pharmaceuticals and SMEs each possess some of the capabilities and expertise required for drug development. Consequently, collaboration is essential to develop new medicines successfully.
Steve Bates OBE, Chief Executive Officer of the BioIndustry Association, said: “Issues such as access to high quality Intellectual Property, support structures, stratified trials, funding and skills require a systemic approach and can’t be fixed by any one organisation working alone.”
The full report can be downloaded from md.catapult.org.uk.
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