Optimizing the value of data in life sciences
"We save about $12,000 a year in postage by not having to mail a review package," Mitchell says. "We are saving another $100,000 a year in supply costs, and we were able to downgrade our copier leases, saving us another $5,400 a year."
As pharmaceutical research continues to increase in size and complexity and as competitiveness among major manufacturers and generic companies continues, the use of knowledge management in the industry will continue to intensify as companies seek to maximize their efficiencies.
A more complete solution
The process for drug development and approval is very complex. Regulators such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration require solid evidence that a drug works as indicated and doesn't have dangerous side effects.
"I have used various tools and products over the years, but each of them has its own limitations," says Ronald Shannon, CEO of Global Health Economics Projects. The company performs economic analysis on drugs and medical devices in early stage development so that clinicians and regulators can determine their effectiveness. Because of those limitations, Shannon had been looking for a more complete solution. He came upon a report from a U.K. university about an improved critical wound care treatment that was developed, in part, through the use of simulation applications from SIMUL8.
"I always had it in the back of my mind to explore that more fully," Shannon says. The chance came when a client from Australia, that sells pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to clinicians, sought drugs that would help accelerate the healing of critical wounds. In only two days of testing, Shannon found SIMUL8's Professional and Scenario Generator applications "saved weeks of time" over any other simulation applications he had used in the past. He used the software to build a case for a specific treatment methodology for his client.
A key feature, according to Shannon, is a graphical interface that displays the effectiveness of drugs and medical devices for certain uses. He expects to use SIMUL8's Pro and Scenario Generator in a similar manner for several more clients in the future. "The bottom line is that the solution is easy to use," Shannon says. "It is a very robust tool, and provides valuable, credible results."