often sought by medium and small sized companies . More recently , we have started to host workshops with industry partners to facilitate collaborations from idea to product .
In your opinion , what are the most promising areas of research or emerging technologies that could revolutionize the biopharma industry in the coming years ?
The pharma and biopharma industry faces many challenges today . There is a need to respond to emerging diseases in real time , expand therapies for diseases with low incidence while balancing affordability and access . This means that the industry has to take a renewed look at R & D processes and business models . Technologies that reduce risk of failure , speed up the development of products and allow for differentiated products to go to market are all relevant for the industry to pivot .
In the area of drug discovery and development , I believe that AI / ML tools are going to play an outsized role . If such tools are able to better predict compounds that are efficacious and safe , the success rate , cost and time to take drugs to market may be dramatically impacted . Some examples of early success such as the repurposing of baricitinib during the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent news of In Silico Medicine taking an AI designed drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis into Phase 1 are heartening . But for these tools to become mainstream , bottlenecks such as the lack of publicly available data sets and the near absence of interdisciplinary teams need to be
“ I encourage scientists to think big and be bold . Ideas that are futuristic spur cutting edge research which in turn , lead to impactful solutions .”
addressed .
I am also hopeful about
PROTACs , oligonucleotides , antibodies and peptide based therapies which are broadening the range of proteins that can be targeted for therapeutic purposes .
As one of the esteemed jury members for the Merck Young Scientist Award 2023 , what are your views on the impact it creates on young scientists ?
The Merck Young Scientist Award aims to identify exceptional young scientists whose work has the potential for impact in the fields of biological sciences , chemical sciences , and sustainability research . For scientists who are inclined towards translational research and development , this is an opportunity to showcase their work and be recognized .
What is the selection criteria for this award ? How have your experiences been in the past while choosing winners ?
Researchers and scientists with less than 10 years of post-Ph . D research
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