Partnering to address the rising cost of clinical trials

The cost of the clinical trial process today is upwards of $100 million. So how can drug developers with robust research and development (R&D) pipelines but a limited operating budget make the most of their portfolios and get as many promising new therapies to market in the narrow window before patents expire, asks Ben van der Schaaf, principal at management consulting firm Arthur D. Little in an expert view piece.

In a word, the answer is partnerships. Working with contract research organizations (CROs), universities, and patient advocacy organizations, innovative drugmakers can find investors who see their intellectual property as a valuable starting point for the drug development process, and provide the capital and share the risk involved in getting promising new therapies through the development stage, regulatory approvals, and launched to market.

Drugmakers interested in trying this approach to funding low-priority drug trials should answer these five questions.