R&D in the pharma industry

Our client, a leading pharmaceutical laboratory in the ophthalmology market, was lacking in reasons to decide whether or not to develop a translational research programs in its R&D strategy. We helped them in exploring the primary barriers and the associated levers to put in place in translational research, focusing mainly on benchmark cases. Our studies focused on three main points:

1. Identifying good practices for a pharmaceutical company to implement translational research activities
2. Determining the potential of applying translational research in the ophthalmology field
3. Defining the optimal organization of our client’s resources

In the end, our study enabled the client to have a complete vision on the ins and outs of translational research programs and the potential implications that their implementation could have on their global R&D strategy.

Alcimed worked with a major pharma player to understand the potential receptivity of using life-extended monoclonal antibodies to manipulate the commensal bacteria found in the skin to prevent dermatological inflammation.

Alcimed analyzed the current treatment landscape, the unmet needs in the current standard of care, the lack of innovation in the space, and the receptivity to novel treatment strategies. Using this analysis, Alcimed was able to estimate the potential market sizes for both prophylactic and therapeutic indications across several geographies.

Our client could then select the right therapeutic target to add to their R&D pipeline for further exploration of the approach’s technical feasibility.

The R&D portfolio strategy team of a pharmaceutical company needed help to lead its choice of the next diseases to invest research & development for, based on a first high-level landscaping of five markets of interest (high medical unmet need).

Alcimed reconstructed such landscapes by analyzing critical industry parameters (epidemiology, unmet need, competition now and in development, etc.) and in the end gave a go/no-go, prioritization and “how to” recommendation.

Alcimed supported a pharma player to investigate the Immunogenic cell death (ICD) field to find future therapeutic treatments for cancer patients. Our client aimed to develop a drug for a defined population of cancer patients where their ICD fails, in order to enhance it and make it work again.

To support our client, Alcimed evaluated three potential subfields in ICD, and showed which induction field is highly developed based on scientific rationales. Next, we mapped research global hotspots and evaluated their maturity. Finally, we evaluated the maturity and progress of key players, and assessed partnership opportunities for the client.

The recommendations allowed our client to identify potential partners to collaborate with in future drug development, and the results served as base for their future strategic orientation.

A leading pharmaceutical client had launched a medical center of excellence in mRNA in 2021 that was dedicated to vaccines, with the objective of accelerating the development and delivery of next-generation vaccines.

Our client wanted to maintain this dynamic by opening a medical center of development for mRNA technologies dedicated to preclinical, clinical, and translational research activities. Our team initially identified public and semi-public financing opportunities for this project, then characterized them (concerned domains, eligibility criteria, funding amount, etc.) and selected the best opportunities by taking into account the needs and specific context of the client.

Finally, Alcimed equally supported the client in developing their roadmap in this new R&D center.

Alcimed helped a leader in the pharmaceutical industry strengthen its CSR strategy by developing a methodology and a tool to assess the environmental impact of its R&D projects in order to reduce its carbon footprint.

To achieve this, our team began by defining the needs of the customer and its teams, based on internal documents concerning its CSR strategy. Following this, we developed an assessment tool for R&D project managers, built around a “step-by-step” approach to evaluate the environmental impact of each stage of the process and the overall impact of the project. In addition, our team produced a user’s guide for the tool, to support future users in their approach and in their questioning.

These tools have enabled our customer to document the environmental impact of its various R&D projects, and to commit its teams to an eco-design approach in line with the company’s CSR strategy. From now on, they will enable development approaches to be harmonized between teams in different geographical regions, whatever the complexity of the projects!