Drug Discovery and Development Archives - Page 4 of 159

Anosmia to amyloidosis: nference’s AI is decoding healthcare data at scale

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The complexity of patient records, with their mix of unstructured notes and diverse data types, defies traditional analysis. While a thorough review of even a single patient’s file can be tedious for a human, AI tools offer the power to analyze tens or even hundreds of millions of records, unlocking data patterns that would otherwise remain hidden.

A burgeoning number of companies are popping up to address the tasks of amalgamating and deciphering patient records using AI tools. Among them is nference, which has attracted backing of notable institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, Duke Health, Emory Healthcare, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2020, the company was highlighted as one of the top digital startups in the world.

Nference’s AI platform has a vast array of data at its disposal. In all, it captures more 11 million patien…

New pharma and biotech manufacturing facilities and expansions announced worldwide for 2024

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The pharma and biotech sectors continue to rapidly transform in response to rising demand for innovative therapies. While less fortunate players are shedding jobs, in 2024, major players like AbbVie, AGC Biologics, and Amgen are investing heavily in new manufacturing facilities worldwide, from Singapore to Japan and the U.S. Companies expanding in North Carolina, Ohio, and Iceland signal a push to make innovative medicines and advanced therapies more accessible globally.

The map below shows select new plant openings and expansions announced in 2024, with 8 in North America and 15 in other regions

North America United States Amgen opened a new AI-enabled biomanufacturing facility in New Albany, Ohio, employing roughly 400 people. The $365 million investment features automation, AI, and data-driven manufacturing processes. Amgen also plans to advance drug discovery using AI models at deC…

Exploring the forces behind 2024 biotech layoffs: A visual journey

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Biotech layoffs continue to pummel the industry in early 2024 — albeit at a slightly lower clip than in 2023. Smaller firms continue to bear the brunt of funding woes and disappointing clinical data. From January to February, operational reorganizations fueled 45 layoff announcements, followed closely by strategic pivots in 37 events. Other common drivers of job cuts include funding challenges and project restructuring.

The Sankey diagram below highlights the web of factors driving the 2024 biotech layoffs for select companies, from operational changes to clinical failures. Think of it like a map tracking why employers let go of workers, which can span multiple reasons. The width of the lines is proportional to the number of employees affected by each layoff. Note, some of the layoff counts are estimated based on percentages and the most recent available employee counts.

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Moving the needle on diversity in clinical trials: Where do we go from here?

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Enhancing patient diversity in clinical trials has become a key priority in drug development. The main concern is that critical data that includes underrepresented patient populations is being left out as many clinical trials do not reflect all populations that may eventually take a therapy. These underrepresented groups consist of women, including those who are pregnant and lactating, pediatric and elderly patients, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and racial/ethnic groups specifically, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Natives, Hispanics/Latinos, Asians, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islanders.

As a result, the U.S. government has taken increased measures with the passage of the Food and Drug Omnibus Report Act of 2022 (FDORA), which will require sponsors to submit diversity plans to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for all late-stage st…

GLP-1s, ADCs, AI and the future of pharma

Pharma’s potential breakthroughs in AI, ADCs, and GLP-1 receptor agonists raise a critical question: can innovation outpace the relentless rise of chronic disease?

The IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science sheds light on this theme, among many others, in its 80-page Global Trends in R&D 2024 report.

Pillar 1: GLP-1 receptor agonists targeting metabolic disease

Speaking of next-gen metabolic therapies in particular, Murray Aitken, the executive director of the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, sees significant potential. Market projections for GLP-1 drugs are bullish, with some analysts projecting sales potentially hitting $100 billion by 2030. “It’s exciting because if the market for these drugs becomes as big as anticipated, it means they are truly being disruptive in a positive way to human health for hundreds of millions of people worldwide,” said Aitken

New metabolic therapies are sorely needed as the obesity epidem…

From gatekeeper to strategist: The evolution of the CISO role in drug development

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There’s an old joke about chief information security officers (CISOs) being gatekeepers of new technologies and initiatives – the infamous “Department of No.” Imagine a bouncer who, strangely, doesn’t let anyone in, saying the club is already too full, even when it’s clearly empty.

But that image is outdated — especially in risk-focused industries like financial services where CISOs are integral to digital transformation projects and the broader risk management considerations.

From CIS-‘no’ to risk maestro

“Drug development is a risk-focused industry as well,” said Daniel Ayala, chief security and trust officer for Dotmatics. “There is a huge amount of risk.” Consequently, CISOs working in pharma contexts are increasingly expanding their roles from technical experts to risk-aware business leaders who happen to have deep technical expert…

Microsoft and 1910 Genetics: AI-powered partnership targets billion-dollar savings and growth in drug discovery

[Image: 1910 Genetics]

The pharmaceutical industry is at a critical juncture: AI and other technological advances offer unprecedented potential, yet the cost of developing new drugs has ballooned for decades, surpassing $2 billion in recent years with the projected return on investment (ROI) falling to a mere 1.2% in 2022, according to Deloitte. Another dimension of the problem is the high failure rate — many potential drugs fall short in the expensive clinical trials.

Microsoft and 1910 Genetics have announced a partnership that aims to reverse the troubling trend.

Accelerating discovery with AI and quantum-inspired computing

Microsoft’s Azure Quantum Elements is at the core of this alliance. The platform integrates high-performance computing, AI, and quantum techniques for faster scientific discovery in chemistry and materials science. The goal is to democratize technologies like AI, high-performa…

Rare diseases, immense needs: J&J’s mission to change the landscape

Rare diseases may seem niche, but their impact is far from small. An estimated 7,000 rare diseases exist, collectively affecting a staggering 300 million people worldwide. This immense burden of disease, coupled with a profound lack of treatment options, underscores the urgent need for innovation. “Actually, the total burden of disease and unmet medical need [for rare disease] is really high,” emphasizes Dr. Katie Abouzahr, vice president, autoantibody portfolio and maternal fetal disease area leader at Johnson and Johnson Innovative Medicine. In recognition of Rare Disease Day on February 29 in 2024, we spoke with Abouzahr to explore how Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine aims to tackle these challenges.

The profound scarcity of treatments for the thousands of known rare diseases drives Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to this area. Abouzahr highlights that many of these diseases still lack advanced therapies, emphasizing the “incred…

Big Pharma shakeup: This chart reveals the new top dog of 2023

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In the Aesopian fable, the tortoise’s steady focus and persistence overcomes the hare’s bursts of speed. 2023 saw a similar shift in the pharma sector. While Pfizer, thanks to blockbuster COVID vaccine sales, rocketed to unprecedented heights in 2022 surpassing $100 billion in revenue, its fortunes reversed in 2023. As COVID product demand plummeted, Pfizer’s revenue nosedived to $58.5 billion, even resulting in a quarterly loss in Q3. Conversely, Merck’s consistent, diversified approach propelled it past Pfizer to become the Big Pharma leader in 2023, with a revenue climb to $60.115 billion, making it the top Big Pharma of 2023 — by a hair. While Merck’s revenue was $60.1 billion, Pfizer’s was only $1.6 billion behind.

This article will analyze the current top five Big Pharma firms, analyzing their successes and…

Beyond the neon: Las Vegas emerging as a surprise biotech hub

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While San Francisco, Boston, and San Diego may reign as biotech royalty, a new contender is carving its niche in the desert. Las Vegas, a city synonymous with entertainment and extravagance, is proving it has the brains and the business acumen to compete on the global biopharmaceutical stage. This transformation is backed by hard numbers: the Nevada bioscience sector boasts 9,413 jobs.

The city is helping drive Nevada’s bioscience sector growth, which experienced a 22% growth surge from 2018 to 2021, far exceeding the national average. Its recent Super Bowl spotlight illuminated more than just football; it revealed a city where world-class researchers, visionary investors, and ambitious startups are fueling a bioscience boom.

Tina Quigley, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LGVEA), emphasized the strategic positioning of Las Vegas in the bi…

Amidst empty labs, signs of biotech’s resurgence emerge

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In 2023, a year of accelerated regulatory success, a significant number of biotech labs sat empty in major hubs like San Francisco and Boston. The FDA approved 55 groundbreaking therapies in 2023, including Leqembi for early Alzheimer’s and Zurzuvae for postpartum depression. The approval number marked the second highest count in three decades. Amidst this contradiction, the seeds of biotech’s next boom are taking root.

In 2024, 72 late-stage therapies are poised for FDA approval, hinting at the potential for resurgence within the life sciences. While post-pandemic lab construction meets a wave of approvals, a slowdown in venture funding and job growth casts a temporary shadow. Additionally, the biotech lab space real estate picture is not as simple as it seems, with a marked shift in the scale and nature of drug development driving evolving space needs.

Even amidst this p…

Pushing the frontier of drug discovery with the world’s most powerful supercomputer

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Frontier supercomputer. [Credit: ORNL]

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Frontier, the world’s first exascale supercomputer with its dizzying 1.1 exaflop speed, is a game-changer for scientific domains ranging from drug discovery to material science and oceanography. The computer holds the top spot on the TOP500 list, an independent ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. “It’s like having a million laptops going into one core,” says Niven R. Narain, Ph.D., CEO of the biopharmaceutical company BPGbio. The company has forged an exclusive partnership with Oak Ridge that enables them to harness the staggering power of Frontier for drug discovery. “Things that historically would have taken us six to nine months to process, it’s like nine hours,” Narain said.

Access to Frontier “changed our company overnight,” Narain said. With…