Phenotype and Target-based Research Strategy in Drug DiscoveryInvolving Academic Engagement: An Analysis of Japanese Cases
Ryo Okuyama · International Journal of Drug Development and Research · 2016
Drug discovery research strategies to identify drug candidates, including target-based and phenotype-based approaches, have been argued in relation to drug R&D efficiency. Some literature highlights the importance of a phenotype-based approach for new drug creation. In contrast, the importance of academic basic science for new drug discovery has been emphasized, implying that rationale-oriented drug discovery stemming from academic discovery of molecular targets and pathophysiological mechanisms could be more productive. To address this issue, I focused only on approved drugs that involved academic researchers in their discovery and analyzed the research process of those drugs using Japanese data. The results show that drug discovery involving academic engagement relied more on a target-based approach, and this phenomenon started early in the biotechnology revolution. This study may give some insight into research strategies in an era of open innovation and the increasing demand for academic research in new drug discovery.