‘Rising costs a major concern in new drug development’

Hyderabad: The increasing costs is one of the major challenges in the discovery and development of new drugs, said Dr Chakk Ramesha, Chief Executive Officer of Medhus Bio, on the second day of the online workshop on ‘Drug Discovery and Development’. He virtually delivered two lectures on topics of ‘Drug discovery and target identification & validation of small molecules’.

The 21-day online workshop is being organised by FABA (Federation of Asian Biotech Associations) Academy in collaboration with US-based nonprofit organisation Science Gurus, and the University of Hyderabad during March 13 - April 2, 2023. This workshop is also supported by World Trade Center Shamshabad & Visakhapatnam.

During his speech, Dr Ramesha covered various aspects of drug discovery and development, highlighting the crucial need to validate targets fully to increase the likelihood of success in clinical trials. He described the different methods and cutting-edge tools used to validate druggable targets. Additionally, he elaborated on target identification and validation in the translation of small molecules. “The fundamental approaches to understanding the action of small molecules on biological systems and targeting validation are the first steps in discovering a new drug, followed by the application of a range of techniques to demonstrate that the drug effects and target can provide a therapeutic benefit with an acceptable safety window,” he said.

His speech also covered many essential aspects of drug discovery, including compound selection, market evaluation, patent and competitive status. He gave an overview of the drug development processes, discussed different approaches to drug discovery, and touched on the molecular causes of diseases. Moreover, he shared the insights on personalised healthcare and the role of microbiome.

Overall, Dr Ramesha’s educative lecture on the importance of drug discovery and development provided the participants with valuable information and a comprehensive understanding of the critical factors involved in drug discovery and development. He has also interacted with the participants and shared his insights.