DDW top reads in 2023

DDW’s Senior Digital Content Editor Diana Spencer reviews the year’s top ten articles. DDW’s top 10 most popular articles for 2023 reflect the key subjects in drug discovery and development. In a record year for gene therapy approvals, it isn’t surprising that cell & gene therapy (CGT) has been a hot topic. Other biotechnologies coming to the fore this year were antibody-drug conjugates and CRISPR gene editing. Regulatory issues and diversity in clinical trials were also important in 2023, as well as the role that artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT might play. Three trends in the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) market Antibody-drug conjugates are biopharmaceutical products in which a monoclonal antibody (mAB) is linked to a small molecule drug with a stable linker. A Nature publication confirmed that there are currently 12 FDA-approved ADCs on the market, and nine of these secured FDA approval in the past six years. DDW Multimedia Editor Megan Thomas explored three trends in the market. Read the article – Three trends in the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) market Expert view: What’s next for cell and gene therapy? This well-read article featured in the DDW Winter 22/23 issue’s Cell & Gene Therapy Guide. Megan Thomas sought the views of the experts to find out what are the global innovations in cell and gene therapy, the emerging opportunities and challenges, and how therapies can get to market faster. Read the article – Expert view: What’s next for cell and gene therapy? Five 2023 breakthroughs in drug discovery for rare diseases Rare diseases are often overlooked for funding and research, but with various incentives and priority review programmes now in place, many companies are beginning to explore these unusual but often devastating conditions. For Rare Disease Day 2023, Diana Spencer provided an overview of the progress that has been made in a range of rare diseases so far. Read the article – Five 2023 breakthroughs in drug discovery for rare diseases Regulatory affairs in 2023: Key trends and changes Dr Julie Warner is Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at global drug development consultancy, Boyds. In this well-received article, she shared her expert insights into the key regulatory developments likely to shape the global drug development industry in 2023. Read the article: Regulatory affairs in 2023: Key trends and changes Understanding the future roadmaps of cell and gene therapy In another article from the Winter 22/23 Cell & Gene Therapy Guide, Megan Thomas caught up with George White, General Manager, Product Management, Cell & Gene Therapy at Cytiva, to learn more about the company’s insight into the CGT market. Read the article: Understanding the future roadmaps of cell and gene therapy Where are the hottest drug discovery hubs in the US? This popular market report was featured in the Spring 2023 issue of DDW. In the article, Megan Thomas takes a snapshot of the US biotech market and some of the ongoing research coming out of the US. Read the article: Where are the hottest drug discovery hubs in the US? National Cancer Research Month: Celebrating drug discovery innovation From antibody-drug conjugates and RNA, to CRISPR and CAR-T therapy, DDW asked the drug discovery industry what the most important development in oncology over the last five years has been. This topical article coincided with National Cancer Research Month 2023, which highlights the importance of lifesaving research to the millions of people around the world affected by cancer. Read the article: National Cancer Research Month: Celebrating drug discovery innovation The importance of introducing diversity earlier in drug development For this online interview, DDW Editor Reece Armstrong spoke to Shantanu Dhamija, VP of Strategy and Innovation at Molecular Devices, about the challenges of diversity in clinical trials and why induced pluripotent stem cells might be key to representing wider patient groups. Read the article: The importance of introducing diversity earlier in drug development Four ways ChatGPT could impact drug discovery Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (or ChatGPT), the controversial chatbot, was launched by creators OpenAI in November 2022. In this overview, Diana Spencer took a look at the ways ChatGPT and technology like it could change the future of drug discovery and development. Read the article: Four ways ChatGPT could impact drug discovery CRISPR breakthroughs: New solutions for common diseases In an article for the Summer 2023 edition of DDW, Rolf Turk, Senior Manager, Genomics Medicine at Integrated DNA Technologies, examined how CRISPR is being used to enhance cancer therapies. Read the article: CRISPR breakthroughs: New solutions for common diseases