The pharma R&D domain is in the midst of a fundamental transformation. The current wave of emerging technologies is bringing in new opportunities that contain the potential of disrupting the entire pharma R&D ecosystem. According to a survey conducted by ICON of more than 300 executives, managers, and professionals in biopharma and medical device development firms. Close to 80 percent of the participants stated their firm plans to use or is using cutting-edge technologies like AI and Big Data to improve their performance at the R&D level. In the past few years, disruptive technologies have already transformed the pharma industry and are expected to play an increasingly significant role in the entire drug development cycle.
For instance, Robotic Process Automation will eliminate costly, time-consuming, and error-prone steps. Whereas big data will be crucial in aggregating and scrubbing massive, disparate new data set; thereby shooting up their transparency in the R&D domain. In this article, we have listed the most significant technology trends that are expected to turn the needle in pharma R&D.
Organ-On-A-Chip And Preclinical Models Still, in a developmental phase, Body-on-a-chip or organ-on-a-chip addresses the need for robust preclinical models for gauging the potential efficacy and toxicity of drug candidates. Through the use of micromanufacturing techniques, such as photolithography, this technology creates a microfluidics environment on a silicon chip that mimics in vivo conditions. Till date, organ-on-a-chip has been developed for different organs like lungs, kidneys, and gut tissues. Equally, body-on-a-chip has been developed to understand how drugs may interact across the organ system. While technology may one day reduce the cost of pre-clinical development and reduce the risk of human trials, it requires additional development and validation before it can be practically used.
Blockchain and Data Integrity In clinical trials, patient data is the most notable item of transactional nature between networks such as healthcare institutions, patients, and regulations. Blockchain has been effective in providing a web-based framework that allows patients and researchers to access their own data. It maintains user confidentiality, protecting patient privacy during the exchange of data between parties. Blockchain technology also allows for complete transparency of data, which has immense potential within clinical trials. With blockchain, there is an audit trail built into a transaction of data, which allows for verification of the original sources of the information being transacted, as well as the ability to detect any attempts to tamper with it. Despite the potential benefits, further functionality will need to be added to incorporate blockchain into trials.
Big Data Analysis Big Data takes considerable effort to evaluate, normalize and structure so that it can be reliably used for analysis. However, if managed effectively, Big Data can have a significant impact on clinical trial designs. For example, structured clinical data – which consists of data from current and past clinical trials, real-world evidence from registries, and peer-reviewed studies – can improve clinical study efficiency in several ways, such as enabling go/no-go decisions and helping close out studies faster. This data can also be helpful in streamlining current trial protocols by predicting potentially high-performing study sites, further shortening study timelines.
Another example of a useful Big Data source is data from wearables and sensors. These sources range from commercial devices, such as Fitbits and cell phone accelerometers, to medical-grade heart, blood pressure, and glucose monitors. The volume and granularity of data from mobile devices can increase the statistical power of subject data, allowing shorter periods to establish efficacy.
Looking Ahead Multiple studies indicates to the growth of the global medicine market at 3 - 6 percent CAGR by 2025. Oncology, immonology and neurology are key areas that are expected to contribute to the growth, that will be backed by a continual flow of new drugs. Besides this the aging of the globaql population will be a major trend that will contribute to the development of pharma R&D. WHo estimates that there will be more than 2 billion people aged 60 and over by 2050. This will create an increased pressure on the global healthcare industry; thereby developing a certain demand for technology to increase the productivity.
Looking a little further ahead at pharma R&D, some companies has already identified the need for constant evolution. This is leading to the increasing trend towards applying new and disruptive technologies that could become available tp patients, thus empowering them to become more involved in their own care.
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