Biopharma puts better use of existing data at top of R&D wish list

Print 22 April 2015
Nick Paul Taylor / Fierce Biotech IT

A survey by analysts at William Blair has found that biopharma R&D staffers think making better use of existing data is their best hope of improving productivity. Almost half of the 133 respondents said the topic was the biggest remaining opportunity to improve R&D.

The finding was largely consistent across companies of different sizes, with 52% of respondents from midsized companies and 41% of people from large pharma listing it as their top priority. Only small pharma companies saw bigger opportunities elsewhere, with the 38% who see the most potential in making better use of data trailing the 40% who advocate for more outsourcing. Increased outsourcing was the second most popular option for medium and large pharma companies.

Almost 20% of respondents from small and midsized pharmas said R&D processes have already been optimized, a bullish sentiment that was shared by fewer of their peers in larger companies. Even so, 13% of respondents from Big Pharma seemingly think their R&D operations are perfect already. When these bold outliers are removed from the equation, the survey makes for encouraging reading for CROs and IT vendors that have hitched the future of their businesses to data-driven models of R&D.

Discussions around the potential of such models have intensified in recent months in the wake of LabCorp's ($LH) buyout of Covance and Quintiles' ($Q) alliance with Quest Diagnostics ($DGX). Some have doubts about whether the incorporation of central lab data into clinical trial planning will have a significant effect on productivity, but biopharma companies are certainly open to hearing out the argument.

"We believe these responses show clients' willingness to try a different approach to improve the clinical trial process," the William Blair analysts wrote. The survey found around one third of people think LabCorp is best placed to streamline trials through data analytics. Quintiles trailed with almost one fifth of the vote, although the respondents gave their answers before it teamed up with Quest.

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