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Review
. 2014 Jun;13(6):419-31.
doi: 10.1038/nrd4309. Epub 2014 May 16.

Lessons learned from the fate of AstraZeneca's drug pipeline: a five-dimensional framework

David Cook  1 , Dearg Brown  1 , Robert Alexander  2 , Ruth March  1 , Paul Morgan  1 , Gemma Satterthwaite  1 , Menelas N Pangalos  1
Affiliations
Review

Lessons learned from the fate of AstraZeneca's drug pipeline: a five-dimensional framework

David Cook et al. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2014 Jun.

Abstract

Maintaining research and development (R&D) productivity at a sustainable level is one of the main challenges currently facing the pharmaceutical industry. In this article, we discuss the results of a comprehensive longitudinal review of AstraZeneca's small-molecule drug projects from 2005 to 2010. The analysis allowed us to establish a framework based on the five most important technical determinants of project success and pipeline quality, which we describe as the five 'R's: the right target, the right patient, the right tissue, the right safety and the right commercial potential. A sixth factor - the right culture - is also crucial in encouraging effective decision-making based on these technical determinants. AstraZeneca is currently applying this framework to guide its R&D teams, and although it is too early to demonstrate whether this has improved the company's R&D productivity, we present our data and analysis here in the hope that it may assist the industry overall in addressing this key challenge.

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