Several big European pharma companies are making moves to increase eR&D efforts.
UK pharma GlaxoSmithKline announced recently that it had purchased 10,000 copies of a new Groove software program for drug discovery and development. The new software will allow GSK employees to collaborate internally on marketing and R&D projects and will also aid external drug discovery communication with biotech companies and academic institutions.
Meanwhile, France’s Aventis announced last week that it had signed an agreement with early drug development software provider InnaPhase. The software is designed to support DMPK/Bioanalytical studies in drug development, as well as assisting with regulatory compliance. Aventis was already using InnaPhase software in some of its drug discovery laboratories, but the new agreement will expand its use to more sites.
Switzerland’s Novartis has also announced the formation of an agreement with drug discovery technology firm Compugen. Novartis will use Compugen’s LEADS computational biology platform to support its development of a database detailing gene expression at the RNA level. In addition, Compugen will provide Novartis with a proprietary DNA chip design for Novartis’ transciptome database.
These announcements represent an interesting shift in the use of computer technology within the pharma industry. Over the last few years, the major focus of computerization efforts has been in sales and marketing. Particularly in Europe, companies have been slow to implement technology within the R&D process. Indeed, Datamonitor research earlier this year found that few European pharmaceutical executives saw eBusiness in R&D as a major priority for investment.
The major reason for this lack of investment has been the difficulty of measuring return on investment outside the sales and marketing sphere. However, as pharma companies’ metrics improve, measuring ROI will become easier. This should stimulate eBusiness investment across the board.
