Hot Topics in Drug Development [April 2016]
9
existing new alternative to animal
t
esting, were recently discussed in a
presentation at the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science conference in Washington, DC.
*
Read more here:
https://alzheimersnewstoday.com/2016/
02/19/researchers-of-parkinsons-other-
neurological-diseases-say-mini-brains-
may-be-effective-in-testing-new-drugs/
LARGE-SCALE MACHINE LEARNING
FOR DRUG DISCOVERY
In collaboration with the Pande Lab
at Stanford University, Google
Research released a paper titled
"Massively Multitask Networks for
Drug Discovery", investigating how
data from a variety of sources can be
used to improve the accuracy of
determining which chemical
compounds would be effective drug
treatments for a variety of diseases. In
particular, we carefully quantified how
the amount and diversity of screening
data from a variety of diseases with
very different biological processes can
be used to improve the virtual drug
screening predictions.
*
Read more here:
http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/201
5/03/large-scale-machine-learning-for-
drug.html
QUINTILES: INNOVATION AND
INTEGRATION DRIVES APPLE
RESEARCHKIT INPUT
Quintiles will provide its open
source code to tech giant Apple's
ResearchKit framework to help create
more efficient and integrated clinical
trial apps.
*
Read more here:
http://www.neurologyadvisor.com/aes-
2015/whole-exome-sequencing-
children-epilepsy-
diagnosis/article/457364/
BIG PHARMA EYES IPHONE FOR
DRUG R&D;
Pharmaceutical giants like
GlaxoSmithKline and Purdue Pharma
want to use Apple's open source
R
esearchKit platform for gathering
medical research data via the
iPhone.
*
Read more here:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephanie
mlee/big-pharma-eyes-apples-
researchkit-for-drug-
development#.yqn1J2XV4
IBM WATSON, GOOGLE FORGE
NEW MODELS FOR PHARMA
DEVELOPMENT
Partnerships are a mainstay in
drug development, but the
pharmaceutical industry is entering
into a new era of innovation as it
forges new models with non-
traditional players and emerging
technologies. So what might be in
store for the industry? DCAT Value
Chain Insights (VCI) looks at new
models in R&D; and the potential
impact on the industry.
*
Read more here:
http://connect.dcat.org/blogs/patricia
-van-arnum/2015/09/15/ibm-watson-
google-forge-new-models-for-
pharma-development#.Vwaczj9zLqR
HYPE OR HIGH-TECH GAIN?
FIRST DRUG PRODUCED BY 3-D
PRINTING LAUNCHED
3-D printing is a technology being
developed across several industries,
but how viable a technology is it for
the pharmaceutical industry? Placed
in the broader field of adaptive
manufacturing, 3-D printing is seen
as tool in pharmaceutical research
and in related fields, such as medical
devices, but is it the wave of the
future for the manufacturing of drug
substances or drug products? DCAT
Value Chain Insights (VCI) examines
potential applications.
*
Read more here:
http://connect.dcat.org/blogs/patricia
-van-arnum/2016/03/29/first-drug-
produced-by-3-d-printing-
launched#.Vv12wxMrLdQ
INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIC
LEADERS COLLABORATE TO
LAUNCH NEW PUBLISHING
PLATFORM TO IMPROVE THE
REPRODUCIBILITY OF PRECLINICAL
RESEARCH
F1000Research will launch a new
publishing channel that will encourage
and facilitate open and transparent
publication and discussion of
confirmatory and non-confirmatory
studies in the biomedical research
sector.
*
Read more here:
http://www.drugdiscoverytoday.com/vie
w/43687/industry-and-academic-
leaders-collaborate-to-launch-new-
publishing-platform-to-improve-the-
reproducibility-of-preclinical-research/
TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES ARE
RACING TO TRACK PATIENTS'
BEHAVIOR IN REAL TIME
More than two dozen companies are
racing to develop digital technology to
keep tabs on patients in real time:
monitoring their vital signs, getting
them to take their pills, even releasing
medication into their body as needed.
The payoff for success will be twofold:
possibly huge profits and access to a
lucrative new trove of personal data.
*
Read more here:
https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/16/
patients-drug-delivery-technology/
IN THE NEWS
IN THE NEWS