Page 172 - CW E-Magazine (24-9-2024)

Special Report

underwent thorough experimental that cater to specific therapeutic areas and remote clinical trial monitoring to
validation by AstraZeneca, involving or patient populations. CROs offering reduce the burden on patients, reduce
CRISPR screening in primary human specialized services in niche areas like the cost, enhance recruitment rates, and
lung fibroblasts and validation via SRF medical devices, rare diseases and per- increase geographical diversity in clini-
gene silencing or pharmacological SRF sonalized medicine are well-positioned cal trial populations, which highlighted
pathway inhibition. The presented data to capitalize on this trend. the need for flexible and remote trial
indicates that inhibiting SRF-driven designs.
transcription of pro-fibrotic genes in Emergence of Medical Device CROs
lung fibroblasts could potentially lead As per a recent report of Grandview Bioprinting
to antifibrotic efficacy in IPF. To date, Research, the global medical device Clinical testing on human beings is
the collaboration between BenevolentAI CRO market size was valued at $7.21-bn a lengthy and tedious process, which is
and AstraZeneca has resulted in five in 2022 and is expected to grow at a affecting the pharmaceutical business.
AI-generated targets selected for CAGR of 8.8% from 2023 to 2030. A new substitute called bioprinting is
portfolio entry, three of which are for The market growth can be attributed emerging to replace it where proce-
IPF. This successful partnership was to an increase in the number of medi- dures comparable to 3D printing, may
expanded in January 2022 for another cal device-specific clinical trials, the manufacture human organs and tissue
three years, including two new disease growing demand for advanced medical replicas. In clinical studies, these
areas – systemic lupus erythematosus devices, and a rise in the focus among organs can be used to substitute living
and heart failure. medical device companies to reduce participants.
the cost associated with research.
Increased outsourcing During the COVID-19 recovery period, Increasing Operational efficiencies of
Conventional global pharmaceuti- the pipeline of medical devices wit- the Clinical CROs
cal companies have been dependent on nessed a steady rise. The growing The CROs offering the clinical ser-
their inhouse R&D centres to provide demand for novel technologies and vices are increasingly utilizing data
the services related to discovery, pre- the increasing need to make devices analytics to improve clinical trial
clinical and clinical development for patient-friendly are expected to improve design, patient recruitment, site selec-
developing innovative molecules. But the pipeline of medical devices. tion, and overall regulatory compli-
over the last two decades, companies ance. The CROs are using complex
have been increasing outsourcing at Increase in global footprint of CROs algorithms to analyse large volumes
various stages of their drug develop- The pharmaceutical CRO market has of patient data, including electronic
ment processes to CROs. This trend been expanding into emerging markets, health records (EHRs), to identify
allows pharmaceutical companies to such as Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and eligible candidates for clinical trials.
leverage the expertise and resources Eastern Europe. CROs are establishing Additionally, real-world data and
of specialized CROs, leading to cost or expanding their presence in global evidence are being integrated into the
savings, faster development timelines, markets to cater to the rising demand drug development process of global to
and access to advanced technologies. for contract research services. These provide more robust insights into drug
regions offer cost advantages, large safety and efficacy.
Focus on specialized service CROs treatment-naïve patient populations, and
for niche areas a growing number of clinical trial sites Ever increasing Regulatory Complexity
With the complexity of drug deve- with adequate infrastructure. The pharmaceutical industry is
lopment increasing, pharmaceutical facing evolving regulatory landscapes,
companies have been seeking CROs Acceptance of remote clinical trial with stricter requirements for drug
with specific expertise and capabilities. services development and clinical trial conduct.
There is rising demand for specialized The adoption and acceptance of vir- CROs are adapting to these complexi-
preclinical services, such as toxico- tual and decentralized clinical trials by ties by strengthening their regulatory
logy studies, safety assessment studies, pharmaceutical companies and regula- expertise and ensuring compliance
multi-drug and metabolite-based bio- tory agencies has gained momentum with regulations across multiple juris-
analysis and complex pharmacokinetic in recent years and this trend has been dictions. This trend highlights the
studies. Similarly in the clinical deve- accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. importance of regulatory knowledge
lopment domain, there is growing de- Virtual trials leverage technologies and capabilities for successful contract
mand for tailored clinical trial solutions like telemedicine, wearable devices, research partnerships.

172 Chemical Weekly September 24, 2024

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