Pharma R&D Today

A Novelty Metric for Evaluating Journal Articles and Authors

Posted on July 7th, 2020 by Matthew Clark

Scientists have long looked for ways to measure the impact and value of their research. In this article we propose a new metric that attempts to measure the recency of the facts discussed in an article.

Readying Your Workforce for Digital Transformation

Posted on June 23rd, 2020 by Paul Dockerty

Seeing it as key to innovation and competitive advantage, many businesses in the life sciences are learning to embrace digital transformation these days—in fact, with good reason, most view it as necessary for survival. But whether or not the process of adopting rapidly-evolving digital-age technologies will actually result in business success can really depend on how you do it.

5 Ways RWE is Fueling the Fight Against COVID-19

Posted on June 19th, 2020 by Xuanyan Xu

As we discussed in an earlier blog post, real-world evidence can bring value to every stage of the drug life cycle, from early discovery to post-market. Now, as the worldwide research community continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also discovering how real-world data and real-world evidence have something to offer in these efforts as well.

The FAIR Toolkit Helps Researchers with Data Challenges

Posted on June 16th, 2020 by Ted Slater

Since the spread of COVID-19 was first reported, researchers of all types have mobilized to meet the challenges its causative agent, SARS-CoV-2, presents to the world. Data scientists in particular have been quick to apply their expertise to the problems of identifying, tracking and predicting outbreaks; diagnosing COVID-19; identifying infected individuals and detecting non-compliance with virus countermeasures; discovering new therapeutic interventions or repurposing existing ones; and searching for a safe, effective vaccine.

How Are Regulatory Agencies Reacting to the Use of Real-World Evidence?

Posted on June 15th, 2020 by Xuanyan Xu

As we have discussed here previously, real-world data (RWD) and real-world evidence (RWE) offer many potential benefits in every stage of the drug discovery and development process, continuing on into post-market surveillance. With drug developers and other researchers becoming more interested in using RWD and the RWE that results from analyzing it, regulatory agencies have had to step up and work on producing guidance.

Drug Repurposing for SARS-CoV-2 Using Network Polypharmacological Approach

Posted on June 9th, 2020 by Helena Deus

Drug development is a multidisciplinary field that requires a drug to successfully pass through different stages — from chemical design to biological experimentation on cells and animals, and finally three phases of human clinical trials — before being approved by the FDA for clinical administration. However, following such a path would not be feasible under circumstances where rapid discoveries are required, such as in the case of the current SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. Hence, repurpose of already approved FDA drugs could help in such circumstances, which can save effort, time and money.

About this Blog

The Elsevier Pharma R&D blog provides insight and opinion on topics related to pharmaceutical research and development, namely: big data, target identification, new drug discovery, drug safety monitoring, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance. We serve the community of chemists, scientists, drug safety specialists, educators and students interested in pharmaceutical R&D.

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Elsevier,  its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Reed Elsevier.