Translational Science Benefits

By bringing together people of different expertise, and information from disparate sources, translational science affords researchers and managers the ability to consider the complete picture of the compounds they are working on. This integration benefits the drug development process in multiple ways:

• Improve drug efficacy: Translational science allows researchers to examine all of the data collected for a given drug, thus increasing the ability to enhance the drug’s efficacy, expanding its therapeutic window, and subsequently reducing its side effects. There is a constant struggle to determine what the proper dosage is for a drug such that it provides therapeutic relief while simultaneously prevents toxicity. Frequently in an attempt to decrease the side effects, a lower dosage is administered, leading to a less-than-desired efficacy.
• Enhance decision making: Translational science provides scientists and managers with a holistic view of their data, enabling them to make more informed, data-driven decisions. The traditional drug development model consists of functional silos that both hinder the flow of information and support a unidirectional flow, leading researchers to make decisions without knowing all of the necessary facts.
• Enable earlier decision making: Translational science increases the sharing of information, allowing for decisions to be made earlier in the development cycle. Currently a large percentage of drugs that enter clinical development fail, so the ability to determine what drugs may fail earlier in the cycle will result in large savings for the pharmaceutical industry.
• Increase R&D effectiveness and productivity: By improving drug efficacy, enhancing decision making, and enabling earlier decision making, translational science increases R&D effectiveness and productivity. It is widely recognized that for every 100,000 compounds entering the drug development cycle, approximately only 10 make it to market as a drug, and of those 10 only 3 prove profitable. Studies have shown that increasing the success rate at the preclinical stage by approximately 10% would help organizations realize a savings of ~100M US$ per drug. Increasing the success rate at the clinical stage by the same 10% would realize an even larger savings of ~225M US$ per drug.
• Reduce R&D costs: By increasing efficiency and productivity, translational science will reduce the overall cost of bringing a drug to market. Research has indicated that developing a new drug can take as long as 15 years and cost upwards of 1B US$. Decreasing the time it takes to get a drug to market will deliver helpful medicines more quickly to those who need it most.

By rapidly and effectively sharing knowledge, translational science allows organizations to optimize decision making, help translate science to clinical practice, and ultimately improve patient health. Certara is uniquely positioned to assist organizations with their translational science needs via products such as D360 and PredictFX. Contact us to discover how Certara can help you achieve your translational science goals.