System biology

How Phenotypic CRISPR Screening is Revolutionising Drug Discovery By Dr Steffen Lawo and Dr Carlos le Sage Research in drug discovery and biotechnology increasingly exploits gene editing at industrial scale in order to identify and validate new biological targets for precision medicines. The discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 systems has fuelled a rapid expansion of gene editing […]

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) – Unlocking their full potential for Drug Discovery By Abby Edwards and Dr Richard Massey Human stem cells were once viewed primarily as regenerative materials for tissue repair through cell therapies. However, advances in technologies and protocols mean that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are now playing an increasingly important […]

Cell Therapy – Preserving Cell Integrity and Viability To Drive Discovery Mary Kay Bates Cell therapy is poised to play a pivotal role in the development of precision and personalised medicines that will transform healthcare for millions of patients worldwide. Involving the direct use of whole cells or cellular material in patients, cell therapy is […]

The Data Driven Transformation In Drug Discovery Dr Satnam Surae This article, presents a review of the current approaches to data management and application within the drug development and research setting, highlighting major critical challenges and emerging solutions for organisations that are determined to harness big data and machine learning. Data-driven companies that use integrated […]

Antibiotics & Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) – A Global Perspective Professor Anthony Coates and Dr Yanmin Hu Antibiotic resistance is at a crossroad. In the world today, deaths in low income countries from Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) are predicted to rise dramatically by 2050. We know how to stop this disaster, and some steps are being taken […]

Microfluidics – Driving Innovation and Streamlining Single Cell Analysis By Dr Frank F. Craig Microfluidics platforms that harness picodroplet technology (picolitre volume aqueous droplets in stabilised oil emulsions) are unlocking the potential of single cell analysis to enable exciting new discoveries and advances with the potential to transform scientific research, drug development and precision medicine. […]

Analytical Biophysical Tools To Accelerate Discovery of Therapeutic Antibodies By Dr Yasmina Noubia Abdiche The innate ability of antibodies to bind their targets with high affinity and exquisite specificity is leveraged in the discovery of therapeutic antibodies to treat a broad range of diseases including cancer, autoimmune disease and heart disease. In addition, antibodies are […]

Disruptive Approaches To Accelerate Drug Discovery and Development (Part 2) By Dr Anton Fliri, et al. Part 2: Emergent intelligence, a new paradigm for drug discovery. (You can read part 1 of disruptive approaches to accelerate drug discovery and development linked here.) The staggering clinical trial failure rate of experimental drugs indicates that despite huge […]

Astrazeneca R&D – Improving Drug Development Productivity With Better Predictivity By Dr Menelas Pangalos & Steve Rees et al. Changing demands in global healthcare over the past 15 years have led to greater complexity and spiralling costs in drug development. The average price tag of taking a new drug from discovery to completion of Phase […]

Precision Medicine Drugs – Pleonasm or Reality? Dr Urban Kiernan and Dr Stephen Naylor The complexity and uniqueness of human metabolism and physiology in the past decade has been highlighted and dissected. Arguments have been made to suggest that our lack of understanding about human individuality has led to the limited efficacy and safety of […]

How High-Throughput CRISPR is set to Deliver Knockout Performance in Drug Discovery By Dr Paul Avery and Dr Richard Massey CRISPR-Cas9 has rapidly transformed our ability to perform targeted gene editing. While the technique has received much interest for its potential in the field of gene therapy, advances in its high-throughput use mean it can […]

Artificial Intelligence & Biopharma R&D IT By The PRISME Forum This article discusses issues around artificial intelligence & Biopharma R&D IT, and outlines how AI can be a potentially transformative technology for the biopharmaceutical and healthcare industries. “…R&D productivity remains an ongoing concern. Artificial Intelligence and the accompanying analytics are now so advanced that these […]

Bringing Immuno-Oncology Together: How An Immunologist & Oncologist Collaborate By Dr Julia Schuler and Dr Louise Brackenbury For many years, immunology and oncology operated as separate disciplines within drug discovery. However, recent advances in immuno-oncology (IO) have demonstrated what can be achieved when the two disciplines join forces in developing novel treatments for patients. From […]

Natural Killer Cells – How NK Cell Therapy Will Transform Immunotherapy By Dr Azusa Tanaka and Dr Michael Seiler Regulatory approval of CAR-T cell therapies in 2017 placed the spotlight on immunotherapy approaches that use live cells to attack tumours – a major shift in oncology treatment and the battle against cancer. Yet even this […]

The Cancer Conundrum – Increasing Clinical Success In Early Stage Drug Discovery By Lubna Hussain This article focuses on increasing clinical success in early stage drug discovery, by implementing improved methodologies in the early phase & using primary cells and 3D culture models to enhance cancer drug discovery. The high stakes of drug discovery and […]

Biologics Drug Discovery – Driving Strategic Improvements With Scientific Informatics By Dr Andrew LeBeau Adoption of a scientific informatics system is essential to the success of every drug discovery organisation. This article discusses how we can drive strategic improvements in biologics drug discovery using scientific informatics. Good decisions can accelerate innovation and success, whereas poor […]