Is it Time to Revisit the Current R&D Model?

The private biomedical research industry has brought significant benefits to patients and has been a major factor in the transformation of the course and treatment of disease over the past half century. It is estimated that over 90% of the medicines in use today have been discovered or developed by the industry. Successful medicines bring revenues to the companies who research and develop them through long-term at-risk investment; the ensuing returns through medicine sales are a key element in sustaining a virtuous circle in the traditional drug research and development (R&D) model. However, late-stage attrition, along with increasing development costs, are now challenging companies and the current R&D model. As a consequence, biopharmaceutical companies are under ever increasing pressure to develop new R&D models. This article describes the current status of large pharma R&D and how it goes about developing new drugs. It analyses some of the current key industry strategic trends and themes that may govern whether the current business model succeeds and continues to be the engine house of delivery for new medicines for society, or whether key changes are required to maximise R&D efficiency and to deliver regulatory approvable and medically required new drugs.