OPTIMIZATION OF GLOBAL R&D STRATEGY

Because pharmaceutical development times contain, of necessity, prescribed periods which are of similar duration for competing innovator companies (eg long-term safety studies), efficiency in translating discovery research to full international development and effectiveness in optimizing the clinical and technical development programs can mean the difference between "the first and the rest," according to Trevor Jones, director, research, development and medical at the Wellcome Foundation Ltd.

He told the Financial Times/Coopers & Lybrand World Pharmaceuticals conference in London last month (Marketletters March 23 & 30) that there can be no single way of achieving this optimization. However, in the current international climate, the following "golden rules" are worth considering:

- ensuring an efficient and timely transition from discovery research to international product development;