Dr Martin Slater, Director of Consulting at Cresset, talks about the increasing trend to outsource computational chemistry, the advantages it delivers, and what the ingredients are for a great consulting project.
It is widely accepted that outsourcing to the right business partner offers a significant competitive advantage in pharmaceutical research. From discovery, to trials, to manufacture, it is possible to outsource every stage of the drug discovery and development process, and computational chemistry is no exception.
There are two main factors driving the increase in outsourcing computational chemistry. One is a trend to outsource across the discovery spectrum. The increasing fragmentation of the drug discovery business has brought an increase in companies who can move quickly to offer tailored research often through the use of on-demand services from consultants.
The other factor is that computational chemistry has become a more integral and accepted part of the drug discovery process. For example, 3D computational molecular design is now an essential part of the medicinal chemists’ toolkit. Cresset has always provided consultancy alongside its software, but over the last few years there has been a steady growth in demand for consultancy services.
The main reason to outsource your computational chemistry to Cresset is that, in addition to excellent first class proprietary software, we bring matching expert scientific knowledge, experience and methods to bear on your project for maximum scientific return. The other reason is the business incentive, which is that using our services is very cost effective – there is no need for you to go to the expense of hiring and training in-house computational chemists that you may not put to use full time.
Big pharma are also seeking to reduce their R&D costs as many key patents are due to expire over the coming years. As IP space is becoming more crowded and regulatory requirements more stringent, the big pharma are keen to reduce risk and overheads in every way possible. Outsourcing computational chemistry can play a part in the drive to get maximum ROI on every R&D dollar spent.
My next posts will develop these themes of what makes a great consulting project:
- Great people.
- Great science.
- Great communication.
- Great business returns.
In the meantime, contact us to learn more about how our services can benefit your business.
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