Enabling a Greater Understanding of Diseases at the Molecular Level

Medicilon offers fully integrated pharmaceutical services for the global scientific community. We focus on providing an exceptional client-centered experience and advancing the drug discovery process.

Website: www.medicilon.com E-mail: Marketing@medicilon.com.cn

For patients, new medicines offer fewer side effects, fewer hospitalizations, improved quality of life, increased productivity, and importantly, extended lives. But the drug development process is very long and complex.

The rapid pace of scientific advances is enabling a greater understanding of diseases at the molecular level. In turn, scientific, technical, and regulatory challenges related to drug development create complexities as companies often focus their R&D where the science is difficult and the failure risks are higher.

As a result, the process for researching and developing new medicines is growing in difficulty and length. On average, it takes at least ten years for a new medicine to complete the journey from initial discovery to the marketplace, with clinical trials alone taking six to seven years on average. The average cost to research and develop each successful drug is estimated to be $2.6 billion. This number incorporates the cost of failures – of the thousands and sometimes millions of compounds that may be screened and assessed early in the R&D process, only a few of which will ultimately receive approval. The overall probability of clinical success (the likelihood that a drug entering clinical testing will eventually be approved) is estimated to be less than 12%.

While these numbers are daunting, a deeper understanding of the rigorous R&D process can explain why so many compounds do not make it and why it takes such a large, lengthy effort to get a new medicine to patients. Success requires immense resources — the best scientific minds, highly sophisticated technologies, ever-evolving manufacturing processes, and complex project management. It also takes persistence and, sometimes, luck. Ultimately, though, the process of drug discovery brings hope and relief to millions of patients.

The drug development process is long, complex and rigorous. Every step is aimed atbringing effective medicines to patients as quickly as possible, while ensuring the highest possible level of safety. It takes an average of ten years to develop a potential new medicine.

Advances in our understanding of human biology and disease are opening up exciting new possibilities forpotential new treatments and cures to meet patient needs. As the complexity of the science increases and R&Dchallenges mount, researchers are continually adapting and innovating to speed drug advances.

Researchers are working every day in labs across the U.S. and around the world to turn scientific promiseinto new medicines for patients. Research-based drug companies are committed to advancing science and developing innovative medicines.

Ensuring a favorable policy and regulatory environment is critical to sustaining the vibrant life sciences ecosystem in the U.S. and fostering the development of new drug advances against our most costly and challenging diseases.