Over the past 100 years, drugs discovered by the pharmaceutical industry have drastically changed the practice of medicine and impacted several aspects of society. Drug discovery was always based on ethnobotanical knowledge with a target and mechanism-agnostic approach. However, today, with the advent of modern molecular biology methods and a better understanding of the human genome, drug discovery has changed into a hypothesis-driven target-based approach.
Evidently, this has made laboratories highly-computerized and automated, where pharma companies are actively using AI solutions to kick-start the entire R&D process. AI can reduce timelines of drug discovery and improve the agility of the research process, increase the accuracy of predictions on the efficacy and safety of drugs, and improve the opportunity to diversify drug pipelines.
In the past few years, a majority of pharma companies have started adopting various strategies to actively integrate AI into their drug discovery process by hiring AI experts and data analysts. A part of their strategy also includes investing in startups and collaborating with tech giants, and research centers. While it is too early to conclude which strategy will be more successful, organizations are adding an addendum to this strategy by adopting more than one AI solution at different stages of the drug discovery process and collaborating with several companies at a time. To stay competitive in the increasingly sophisticated technologies and an unstable economic environment, biopharma companies are also increasingly outsourcing research activities to contract research organizations (CROs). Several pharma companies are also implementing machine learning-based deep learning technology to transform the small molecule research field and identify new biologics such as therapeutic antibodies against cancer, fibrosis, and other diseases—this approach has reduced the time-to-market of the antibody therapeutics by 3-18 months.
At this juncture, many cutting-edge drug development solution providers and consulting companies are entering the domain with advanced and integrated offerings. To help the pharmaceutical sector strengthen its operational capabilities and simultaneously enable growth in the industry, Pharma Tech Outlook has compiled this edition. The list comprises prominent organizations in the industry that address issues pertinent to drug development by implementing current trends. Besides, the magazine also includes insights from thought leaders in the sector on the industry trends, best practices, recent innovations, and their advice for the aspiring CXOs. We present to you Pharma Tech Outlook’s, “Top 10 Drug Discovery and Development Solution Providers – 2020.”
