7 IDEAS FOR THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY IN THE FUTURE

12/09/2023

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed new challenges for pharmaceutical startups. What needs to be done to survive and develop, especially in this period. The StartUs Insight newspaper based on the analysis of “1745 famous pharmaceutical startups in 2020”, found the most outstanding startups. To turn challenges into opportunities, pharmaceutical companies have had “tips” for startups to survive the pandemic.

 

1. Drug research and development

The traditional drug development process takes more than a decade and billions of dollars to bring a drug to market. Emerging startups are using technologies such as Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to speed up the search for drugs. Data-driven drug discovery allows analysis of efficacy through a large amount of biomedical literature and “omics” data (*). This provides information on new drug design as well as finding drug targets aimed at unmet conditions. In addition, it allows in-silico (**) testing of new and existing drugs in a variety of different conditions.

(*) Omics: Biological sciences related to biology with names ending with the suffix “omics” such as: Genomics and gene function (Genomics), proteomics and protein function (Proteomics), cell chemistry research (Metabolomics).

(**) in-silico: computer simulation testing.

 

2. Clinical trials

Clinical trials take a significant amount of time in the drug development process. Many patients often drop out during clinical trials. Pharmaceutical startups also face difficulties in recruiting suitable patients for a group. On the other hand, patients, especially those with rare or orphan diseases, often find it difficult to find a clinical trial near them. Startups are now using AI, analytics and real-world evidence to encourage patients to participate in clinical trials.

 

3. COVID-19

Any list of innovations in 2020-2021 is incomplete without mentioning the biggest challenge of the year - the corona pandemic. First, pharmaceutical companies stepped up to the task and developed many rapid tests, including antibody-based tests. Now, there is a race underway to bring the COVID-19 vaccine to market. Both Moderna and Pfizer have announced promising results for their mRNA-based vaccines. In addition, startups are researching and developing treatment methods and vaccines to bring everything back to normal.

 

4. Vaccines

The corona virus pandemic shows the urgent need for vaccine development for infectious diseases. With gene editing technology, startups are now providing whole-cell vaccines with specific antigens for effective immunotherapy. New technologies for delivery, as well as new platforms such as exosomes or virosomes, ensure that vaccines work at a specific target and minimize side effects. Startups in the pharmaceutical field are also developing efficient cold chains to ensure vaccines reach people even in remote areas.

 

5. Microbiome-based therapies

Many studies have shown the link between the gut microbiome and the development of many diseases. They include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), type 2 diabetes, autism spectrum disorder and chronic diseases. Some pharmaceutical startups are researching therapies that modify the composition of microbes in the human body to reverse disease conditions. These biologic therapies use live microbes to prevent or treat some diseases.

 

6. Regenerative cell therapies

As gene editing becomes easier and cheaper to perform, autologous cell therapies are becoming more and more popular. For conditions such as hematological malignancies, startups provide cell therapies with little or no immune response. Increased understanding of stem cell differentiation also facilitates the development of startups that provide regenerative cell therapies. These therapies are especially beneficial for patients with aging-related disorders and autoimmune conditions.

 

7. Omics technologies

The 21st century has changed the way pharmaceutical companies and life science fields conduct research. Most of this change comes from the breakthrough of omics technologies in fields such as genomics and proteomics..etc

By digitizing the human genome, startups have found breakthrough solutions for precision medicine and preventive health care. Based on data on human genes and proteins to find new ways to deliver drugs to the right target.

There are many other omics technologies that are still in their infancy and are being deployed to serve new drug research in the next few years.

 

Source: PEC Pharmaceutical Economics Club

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