Science Exchange, an SaaS-enabled marketplace platform for outsourced R&D services, has partnered with the European Quality In Preclinical Data (EQIPD) consortium to launch a novel quality system for drug discovery and development research.
Supported by the Innovative Medicines Initiative, EQIPD is the first quality system that can be applied to non-GLP research in both industry and academia. It puts forward 18 core requirements in categories such as research processes and data integrity.
The pharmaceutical industry is deeply invested in developing standards to improve the quality of preclinical data. Over the last decade, drug development has slowed significantly — development time now averages over 8 years per new medical entity. A key bottleneck is the transition from preclinical to clinical research, because preclinical data, generated by multiple teams across industry, academia, and the public sector, are not of uniform quality. Enhancing the quality of preclinical data without impeding innovation can smooth this transition, helping pharmaceutical and biotech companies get therapeutics to patients faster.
In addition to Science Exchange, a reproducibility pioneer, the consortium brings together 28 more partners, including teams from 11 major pharmaceutical companies. Consortium members include Novartis, Roche, Abbvie, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Sanofi-Aventis, and UCB Biopharma.
“We have a lot of external collaborations, and we’d like to have reliable data — data we can take decisions on. This is why big pharma is so interested in this consortium,” said Dr, Thomas Steckler, EQIPD Project Leader, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, in a video introduction to the project.
“As part of the EQIPD consortium, we are advancing our mission to accelerate breakthrough discovery and development,” explained Elizabeth Iorns, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of Science Exchange and co-founder of several other reproducibility projects. “Unlike current regulatory frameworks, such as GLP, the EQIPD system addresses key barriers to reproducibility while still giving scientists the flexibility they need to innovate.”
Research organizations seeking to formally implement the EQIPD quality system and receive accreditation can contact Science Exchange. They can advise on next steps and put you in contact with the EQIPD accrediting team; details can be found at https://blog.scienceexchange.com/2020/10/eqipd/.
This article was originally posted on: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201110005266/en/Science-Exchange-Partners-with-Joint-PharmaAcademic-Consortium-to-Improve-Research-Reproducibility