As the cost of drug development continues to increase, the need for pharmaceutical firms to select the best candidates as early as possible grows. A perfect example of the importance of the process is provided by Pfizer’s recent decision to drop two drugs at Phase III, wasting considerable research effort and millions of dollars of investment.
However, in the current financial climate big pharma is increasingly focused on M&A rather than innovation to sustain pipelines. This has seen drug firms cut back on R&D and increase their use of outsourcing to plug gaps in early phase development.
Privately-owned contract research group Melbourne, which reported a “significant” increase in its 2008 turnover, said that “selective outsourcing of processes that require specialist equipment and skills intensively, for short periods…gains particular strategic importance during a downturn.”
Melbourne is aiming to develop a more collaborative strategy through the formation of closer partnerships with drug industry clients and strategic acquisitions. The firm is also increasing capacity at its laboratory near Stansted airport in the UK which, it hopes, will help it expand its 30 per cent international client base.
The company has also revamped its executive team, naming Mark Hammond as CEO and appointing research industry veteran Walter Herriot as managing director. Company founder and former chief Steve Westcott has become executive chairman.
Melbourne also added to its team of specialist staff which, as Westcott said, are a key driver for its all of its activities. He explained that: “There is a shortage of skilled analysts and formulators in the industry so we have invested time and resource in training our own and linked this with the quality system.”
"The majority of our clients are at the cutting edge of innovation so the expertise and knowledge that we can offer gained from working on many different projects for a wide range of companies can afford them substantial benefits," added Westcott.
Westcott went on to say that the pressure on pharmaceutical firms to create effective and commercially valuable drugs makes definitive early-phase clinical research even more critical. He added that research sponsors are increasingly asking for “go/no go” decisions at an earlier stage.