Subhro Mallik, senior vice president, head of Life Sciences, Infosys explores how advances in data and technology had help with the development of future drugs.
Home to GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, two of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, the United Kingdom (UK) is a major centre of drug development. It has given the world several blockbuster drugs for the treatment of cholesterol, asthma, and depression. In 2020, spending on R&D in the UK pharmaceutical sector reached an eight-year high, jumping 6.9% annually to £4.8 billion.
As one of the more insulated industries in the wake of Covid-19, the pharmaceutical industry is rallying behind global demand for a vaccine, further boosting drug research and discovery. However, costs of drug development and time to market continue to be the topmost challenges for pharma players. A recent study led by the London School of Economics and jointly conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and KU Leuven, Belgium, puts the average cost of drug development at nearly US $1.3 billion. This expenditure is significant, considering that the overall time taken from drug discovery to commercialisation and market sales is nearly 10-12 years. Today, the pharma industry is under pressure to provide greater transparency into drug development costs to justify soaring drug prices.