The high attrition rates in pharma biotech are well documented.
Many initial laboratory studies fail to replicate the results, apart from scientific causes, artifacts induced consciously or unconsciously could be significant contributors. Failures are expensive in terms of time and money. They are also a cause of disappointment for the innovators and their teams.
Not all scientific failures are preventable. However, the failures arising out of human error or process errors are largely avoidable. Scientific failure risk could also be mitigated by in-depth, cross-functional due diligence at an early stage in development.
Improved target validation, and more appropriate preclinical models that support clinical phases could reduce attrition. In addition, non-compliance resulting from non-conformance to ‘good practices’ is a highly preventable cause of early-stage failures.
