Roche and AstraZeneca launch medicinal chemistry data-sharing consortium to further accelerate drug discovery

Roche and AstraZeneca announced a new collaboration to share a specific type of early research data related to drug design, which could further accelerate the discovery of high quality compounds with an increased chance of clinical success. Using a dedicated technology (Matched Molecular Pair Analysis, MMPA) modifications will be identified, which companies can apply to their compound structures in order to improve their metabolism, pharmacokinetics or safety, without divulging confidential information about their chemical structures. This gives both companies the opportunity to efficiently reapply useful medicinal chemistry know-how embedded in their combined databases of experimental results, in order to identify potential new drug candidates using fewer rounds of design, synthesis and testing. Both Roche and AstraZeneca will make their selected databases available for this type of joint analysis and are committed to making the data generated available to the broader research community, including research foundations, charities and academia.

Commenting on this collaboration, Luca Santarelli, Head of Neuroscience and Small Molecule Research at Roche, said: "It is unique in the history of our industry that two major players are sharing their know-how at such an early stage of research. We believe that this transparency of small molecule optimization knowledge, in a smart and thoughtful way, could profoundly enhance our ability to design drugs, be of benefit for all parties involved and ultimately help bring better medicines to patients."

"AstraZeneca has taken multiple steps to both open our compound libraries to those wishing to find exciting new chemistries for early drug discovery and to share compound related datasets that will allow our industry to speed the discovery of new medicines," said Mike Snowden, head of Discovery Sciences in Innovative Medicines and Early Development (IMED), which initiated the collaboration. "Researching a potential new medicine is a long race that we strive to complete with urgency to fill unmet medical need. We are making these data sets available in the belief that – when paired with findings from other companies through a common platform – we can reach our patients faster with medicines that make a meaningful difference to their lives."

The data-sharing will be managed through the intermediary company, MedChemica, which has expertise in the key technology of MMPA. The consortium is open to other large companies to add their knowledge thereby gaining access to and enhancing this resource.  More data added to this system will raise the quality and specificity of drug design rules.

Alexander Dossetter, Managing Director at MedChemica said, 'We congratulate both companies for taking the courageous first step of sharing medicinal chemistry knowledge. We aim to expand this kind of collaboration and eventually go beyond facilitating chemical building blocks into chemical lead hunting and optimization.  The goal is that resources will be better utilized and patients better served."

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The Pharma Phenomenon of the Sales-Rep-Turned-Product-Manager

By Wendy Blackburn*

 

There’s this interesting thing in the pharmaceutical marketing world where sales reps magically morph into marketers. I’m not sure how it began (and its not exactly magic, as you’ll read), but it’s been that way as long as I can remember successful sales reps reach a certain point in their career where they leave the field to come into home office and do a rotation in market research or brand management. Some of them learn the ropes and go on to be great marketers. Others flounder their way through marketing their brand for a few years until they get moved on to something else.

People from outside the pharma industry often marvel at this insane phenomenon these sales-rep-turned-marketers have no advertising, product management, or marketing experience and receive little training. How are they expected to be successful? 

The smartest ones, I’ve observed, learn to ask a lot of questions. They lean on peers and their agencies. They’re smart, and they know they need to think differently. And they embrace the challenge of learning something new.

The unsuccessful ones, I’ve observed, don’t admit what they don’t know. They ignore market research if they don’t agree with it. They make erratic decisions, and no one knows how those decisions were arrived upon. They don’t like the color green so they don’t want to see it in the creative comps. They have a brand-centric sales mentality instead of patient-centric one. They set tactical goals for the year – “I need to do one new sales aid. I need to launch a Facebook page.” – and spend the year checking off those goals come hell or high water. And they often aren’t comfortable with technology so they stay away from blending too much digital into their marketing mix. Sigh.

Here’s my theory:  It’s not really their fault. Sales reps – by training – are reticent to admit they don’t know something. In fact, that’s really hard for a lot of people to do. The business world demands confidence. It demands people that can make quick decisions, can command a room, and sell anyone on an idea – whether that idea is good or bad. These reps are used to being all about the brand – not the patient. And they’re probably only in this gig for a few years anyway so why invest the energy to learn something new, take risks, or fight for something?

In my opinion, that’s a pretty sad state of affairs. We should all be learning, growing, asking questions, and fighting for what we believe in. When we stop doing that, the spark is gone and we’re just going through the motions. That’s the place where bad campaigns are born. It’s where great ideas go to die. And it’s where big pharma forgets that patients are their ultimate customers.

Are you one of these sales-rep-turned-product-manager phenomenons? If so, take a look in the mirror. What type of legacy will you leave behind? 

Wendy Blackburn is an Executive Vice President at Intouch Solutions, a leading pharmaceutical marketing agency.