THE JOURNEY FROM CONCEPT TO DRUG PRODUCT
Drug development is a long and expensive cruise through mostly uncharted waters. There is no guarantee of safe arrival: very few compounds screened during drug discovery result in an approved drug product. Yet, the failure rate is only partly determined by the properties of the product, like efficacy and its safety profile. Too many viable projects are terminated on avoidable non-technical issues relating to planning, budget and communication issues (including market reassessments), and loss of internal support to the project.
Those traveling from concept to product are keen to reduce attrition rate in drug development, whilst moving fast. Drug development, however, should not become a stopwatch-driven exercise. Experience has shown that cutting corners often does not expedite development and instead can hamper or even threaten a project's chances for success.