Data science ushering in next wave of drug innovation: Biocon CMD

Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said data science is ushering in the next wave of drug innovations by promising to transform every stage of the new discovery and development process in the sector.

Speaking at the annual lecture on 'strategic importance of data science in research and innovation', she said leveraging advance data analytics presents a real and significant opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry.

Citing a Mckinsey report, she said in an increasingly cost-constrained global healthcare market, pharma companies that leverage analytic for advanced data-driven decision- making over the next one to three years will gain decisive advantage over their peers.

"Data analytics is helping predict clinical outcomes, inform clinical trial designs, support evidence of effectiveness, optimise dosing, predict product safety and evaluate potential adverse event mechanisms," the biotechnology pioneer told reporters.

She further said while it is true that the cost of bringing a new drug to the market is enormous, it is also true that the astronomical price tags for the revolutionary new treatment are unsustainable.

"Drug research today is relying on multiplex data sets to answer and solve many of the medical challenges," she added.

Stating that creating a drug from scratch is an expensive and time-consuming process, she said with a one on ten success rate, the global pharma industry is looking at data science for enhancing the probability of success, and thereby shortening timelines.