From academic concept to commercial reality: How to accelerate trans lational drug discovery
With eleven active partnerships in place, Evotec’s BRIDGEs have become a globally leading pre-seed accelerator initiative.
Alongside operational BRIDGE-building, our team has also been reflecting conceptually on the challenges and best practices in accelerating the transition from an academic starting point in drug discovery to an investable proof of concept. Key thoughts are now summarised in a White Paper mini-series entitled ‘From academic concept to commercial reality: How to accelerate translational drug discovery’.
In three chapters we will share openly our insights and views to inspire a continued dialogue between academic researchers, investors, and biotech and pharma colleagues on how to build an even more robust translational community and – together, for medicines that matter - develop new first-in-class therapies and platforms.
The opening segment, titled ‘Is academic research a valid source of novel medicines?’, introduces the topic and establishes the groundwork for a comprehensive understanding.
Chapter 1, titled ‘Finding a winning formula to lower barriers for academic researchers’ considers the incentives and disincentives faced by academic researchers who consider setting their early discoveries on the pathway to translation, starting with the role of academic culture.
Chapter 2, titled ‘Source. Plan. Invest. Execute. Navigating the tough roadmap of pre-seed therapeutics investment’ summarises how novel partnership structures and operating models, illustrated by reference to our various BRIDGEs, are needed to overcome key hurdles for the VC community and pharmaceutical companies in accessing and de-risking pre-seed/pre-PoC translational projects from academia.
We hope you find the reading insightful and enjoyable.
Stay tuned for chapter 3.