subject: Getting Ahead Of The Competition With The Help Of Biomarkers [print this page] In business it can often be vital to get an edge on your rivals and gain a competitive edge where you can. This is true to some degree in every industry sector and at times the success or failure of a project can hinge on it.
The area of medical research and drug development is one of the worlds most competitive industries, which is not surprising when you consider that billions of pounds are spent on research every year, and the financial rewards that come from bringing a successful new drug to market.
Anything that can help add to the research process, save costs and speed up development progress is always welcomed by the industry, and this is why biomarkers are becoming an increasingly important part of the research stage for businesses. Biomarkers can help firms find out early on whether a potential drug will be unsuitable, rendering further tests unnecessary. Not only does this save huge amounts of time for the laboratory staff, but it will also bring considerable cost savings as resources are not being wasted on a drug that will never see the light of day.
For small companies involved in drugs research, making advances and breakthroughs on a regular basis can be crucial if they are to continue to receive investment. For these firms it is understandable why biomarkers hold such appeal, allowing them to speed up the research process and avoid wasting money developing drugs that will only fail eventually.
For example, biomarkers can help to show at an early point in the development phase whether a drug could bring about undesirable side effects in patients. If this is the case then research on that particular drug can be terminated early, helping to lower the attrition rate during the later stages of a project. These benefits are understandably desirable to any firm and thats why the use of biomarkers will only continue to grow across the world.
Regulatory approval will help speed up this process considerably and more firms are now investing time and money in acquiring validated biomarker information. Seen by some as currently one of the most important areas of pharmaceutical research, establishing standards that will help smooth the integration of biomarkers into the research sector in the coming years is incredibly important.
