Evolution in thinking and processes?

Pharmaceutical R&D transforms scientific ideas into drugs on the market. Owing to the complexity and low overall success rate, Drug Discovery needs to be as much about science as about operational excellence. In vitro screening groups, underwriting early discovery from exploratory to candidate selection, are trying to combine the search for new scientific concepts with a production-like focus on logistics, reproducibility and delivery on time. Moving beyond high-throughput technologies, we begin to ask how to improve processes and work more seamlessly across functional lines. In this context lean methods have become a front runner in discussions at drug discovery meetings. What are these methods and are they delivering what is promised, or are we looking at yet another management initiative?

Section editors:Phil Gribbon – European ScreeningPort, Hamburg, GermanyKelvin Lam – Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA