How to optimize R&D productivity
IQVIA recently released a report outlining strategies to improve R&D productivity and to reduce related cost-per-approval, which is now estimated at $3.1B[1],[2].
The described strategies primarily focus on addressing two key cost drivers, i.e., cycle time and success rates, and include the following[3]:
Optimizing cycle times
Strategies to improve cycle times are shown in Figure 1 below:
Figure 1 (Source: IQVIA White Paper 2023)
Improving success rates
Strategies impacting success rates might include any of the following (Figure 2):
Figure 2 (Source: LFSCNC)
Conclusions
Although the aim of the strategies described above is mainly to reduce development costs, they also have an impact on other financial and economic parameters. Reducing risks by improving success rates and/or cycle times, will ultimately yield higher investment returns, benefiting shareholders which most likely are founders and venture capital groups in case of early-stage companies.
Last but not least, improving development timelines will also be of benefit for the intended patients, providing faster access by reducing overall time-to-market.
At LFSCNC we firmly that the same strategies can equally be deployed relatively easily within early stage (biotech) companies. Please contact one of our Team members to learn more as to how we can support you advancing your development projects.
[1] A New Look at R&D Productivity: How small changes to key levers can dramatically impact cost per output. IQVIA White Paper 2023 [2] Median cost-per-approval for the researched cohort. In the methodology used by IQVIA, costs are attrition loaded, to account for failed assets in the pipeline, and capitalized to account for the time value of money during the duration of the development [3] “Cycle time” is defined as the time required to progress through each stage of the development while “success rate” is defined as the probability of successful transition from one development stage to the next
