Pharma Blog Watch

Better Information Management Begets Cheaper Drug Development (On Pharma)
In her blog, Agnes Shanley previews a report set to come out this summer that seeks to "pinpoint what is making drug development so costly."

"The fundamental problem is one of data transfer and knowledge management," she writes. "Today, the most senior scientists at some pharma companies spend 30-40 percent of their time on mundane administrative tasks, and simply looking for data that already exist."

"Information management must be improved, the research suggests," she continues. "But so must organizational thinking. In order for the industry to move to a true 'Quality by Design' drug development model, FDA must improve the connection between review and inspector teams for small-molecule drugs, while senior managers within the industry must get directly involved in promoting the cross-functional culture that QbD demands."