By Bill Kelly

Given the dynamic nature of the life sciences industry coupled with its high financial stakes, it is prudent for a pharmaceutical company to expand its market intelligence program beyond the short-term needs of management and brand teams. Ultimately, however, a company’s long-term competitiveness depends upon the skill of its researchers in utilizing cellular and molecular biology and medicinal chemistry to discover, develop, and commercialize naturally occurring proteins, antibodies, and small molecules. As the pace of biological research increases, pharmaceutical companies must increasingly monitor strategic developments in the world’s scientific community in order to ensure their R&D scientists are fully aware of breakthroughs, emerging trends, promising approaches, and new platform technologies.

Data from the National Science Foundation indicates that only a small fraction of the billions of dollars pharmaceutical companies invest is directed at understanding the impact of basic scientific research on drug discovery and fostering a relationship with scientists who are engaged today in research that will inform tomorrow’s drug discovery. However, forward-thinking life science executives are beginning to recognize that a pharma company’s competitive intelligence program must provide access to invaluable scientific and medical insights before they are published in journals or presented at scientific and medical conferences.

Delivering strategic and technical intelligence services to monitor and understand new developments in basic and preclinical research will benefit pharmaceutical companies in three primary ways:

Basic And Preclinical Research Fuel Innovation
Exploiting the strong links between basic and preclinical research and innovation will ultimately help secure the profitability and sustainability of a pharmaceutical company’s market position. Basic research opens up a window into the fundamental knowledge base from which intellectual property and the protection provided for its capitalization is derived. Preclinical research builds upon this base by developing studies designed to test the mechanisms, safety, and efficacy of an intervention prior to its use in humans. Together, these two research components can ensure that novel approaches will be fully exploited.

Establishing Connections
Realizing the payoff of basic and preclinical research depends primarily upon establishing enduring links with those individuals who conduct it. The flexibility of support available to researchers, particularly in academia, to pursue hypothesis-driven research has given them the freedom to explore a vast array of phenomena in great detail. While the majority of this information is documented in publications and conference proceedings, there is a collective body of knowledge held by these researchers which would be unknown to those beyond a closely woven circle of colleagues and collaborators. Access to these unpublicized insights and experiential knowledge, which involves identifying leading researchers and securing their willingness to share their knowledge, provides a unique opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to be first adopters of a variety of drug discovery initiatives.

Selecting The Right Tools
The success of a company’s scientists in understanding the biology of diseases and developing innovative treatments is directly linked to the state-of-the-art supporting technologies that enable the discovery and development of new therapeutics. Along with this reliance on cutting edge technology, scientists strive for increased lab productivity, lower R&D costs, and higher rates of success in identifying and validating drug targets. These scientists, however, are confronted by a dizzying array of competing systems, instruments, and kits marketed by hundreds of vendors. Researchers have a far wider array of technologies, techniques, and products to choose from than they did even five years ago. Furthermore, product cycles are shorter, imitation is more rapid, and, as a consequence, the time period in which a drug discovery technology enjoys differentiation has narrowed considerably. Consequently, researchers are looking for more effective, less expensive ways to get work done and the tools with which to do the work. For every innovative idea in a pharmaceutical R&D department, it is almost certain that there is a kindred idea, and some relevant experience, elsewhere in the scientific community. Knowing about, understanding, and learning from these related endeavors will provide companies with a significant competitive advantage.

Conclusion
Due to fierce competition for market share, pharmaceutical companies prefer to invest in short-term research projects, or those requiring less than 10 years to result in new drugs or medical devices. For the most part, engaging in long-term, basic research projects is a luxury most companies simply cannot afford. Strategic & technical intelligence supports R&D initiatives by augmenting the basic and preclinical research conducted at the company and extending the length and breadth of these projects, while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the company’s scientists.