Navigating Medical Research & Development Ahead of the Curve

Industry data show that drug discovery and development can take 12-15 years.  It is an extremely complex multi-layered process that always seems to have just one more step.  Patients and parents in the rare disease community just want to get the treatments they desperately need as quickly as possible. 

If you are one of those patients or parents, you are looking for shortcuts, hacks, and disruptions to shorten that time horizon.  On the one hand, your lack of familiarity may give you fresh eyes and free you from conventional wisdom.  On the other hand, if you do not understand the whole process, each new obstacle forces you to learn on the fly.  You may find yourself in a “pay me now or pay me later” scenario making decisions today that slow you down in the future.

You probably wish you could learn faster than the process unfolds. 

Let’s consider Waze, the navigation app that uses the network of users to tell each other what is happening on their part of the highway.  Drivers can look ahead into the future to identify traffic jams, construction, accidents, and even speed traps.   The app finds the best route and offers alternatives as traffic conditions change.  You can even plug in a planned journey days in advance and Waze will use the accumulated daily data patterns to suggest the best times to leave to avoid typical rush hour delays.

Without Waze, you may decide to leave very early in the morning to avoid your neighborhood rush hour only to find yourself sitting in stopped traffic a few hundred miles out as you try to go around a big city.  Or you may decide to drive faster to gain some time and find yourself stopped and explaining why you were speeding to a state trooper.  Or you may take what seems like a shortcut that leads you into a maze of one-way streets, construction, or even in the wrong direction entirely.  Or maybe it is as simple as being in the wrong lane after you make a turn.

How valuable would it be if you could learn what you need in drug development before you need it?  Before you even know you need it?

You are not the only one on this drug development journey.  Many companies, foundations, and individuals have gone here before.  Some of the paths are well worn, others seem underused.  The obstacles are not new, and they show up in consistent places, just like a pothole on a busy street.   Drug hunters have worked on solutions to overcome or even avoid the obstacles.  There is a wealth of information out there.  And sometimes that is the problem – there is just too much to digest.  It is difficult to know how much detail to go into each step or process along the way. 

Furthermore, drug discovery and development consist of multiple layers filled with dependencies, hidden risks, and changing policies.   It is more like a transportation system with land, sea, and air routes for various activities.  Maybe this is why whenever you thought you understood how to find and develop treatments, there is something new to learn. Imagine a place you can go to see the big picture and drill down to the details you need today.  We are building that place. 

We are calling it The Biopharmaceutical Atlas of Discovery and Development: Your self-paced guide to understanding the process of medical research and development.  This program will put you in the driver’s seat. You will not need to wait for the process to unfold to learn it – you can learn ahead of the curve.

Salem Oaks has mapped out all the on ramps, roundabouts, express routes and service stations along the drug discovery and development journey.  We have connected the subway system of manufacturing with the multi-stop flights of clinical trials and the vehicle inspection stations of government regulation.

We plan to develop short courses based on this comprehensive map that will be made available on a monthly subscription basis.  Bite-size microlearning will give you information more efficiently and build your knowledge more effectively. In addition to at least 30 minutes of new content each month, you will have the opportunity to meet virtually with other subscribers to discuss the lessons they have learned and raise the questions that are troubling them.   Your questions will guide the release of upcoming courses.

Would you find it valuable to know what is around the next corner? 

Then, please register for our opening brainstorming session on Sep 28, 11 am EDT, 8 am PDT.  We will discuss our vision for the future of The Atlas.  But more importantly, we want to hear from you and what would make The Atlas most valuable for you.  We are inviting you to help us map out our future.   

And please send us a note about where you are in the process and what you would like to learn next.