How Modern Technology Is Transforming Drug Research and Discovery

Since their invention, somewhere around the year 5,000 B.C., drugs have been used to help treat diseases and relieve pain. However, it’s only in the last decade, or so that modern technology has helped improve drug research and development.

Now, drug companies are using big data, cloud computing, and other tech innovations to speed up their processes and make more effective medications for patients around the world.

Medical Research Has Changed for the Better

Modern technology has been a key component in the development of new drugs. The use of computers, software, and automated machines has helped researchers test thousands of drug molecules at once.

The process is far less time-consuming than it was in the past, allowing scientists to complete more research and pharmaceutical testing in less time. As a result of this technological progress, we now have access to medications to treat conditions that were previously incurable or untreatable by traditional means.

In the following sections, we’ll take a look at a few such technologies that are ushering in a new era of drug research. Let’s dive right in.

Enhanced Clinical Trials

While clinical trials have been around for decades, they’ve taken on a new meaning in recent years, thanks to advancements in technology. Clinical trials on humans are being conducted more efficiently with the help of apps and electronic data collection systems.

These tools are designed to collect information from patients in a consistent manner, allowing for faster results and more accurate information. That, in turn, helps improve the performance and reliability of clinical trials on humans.

Speeding Up Drug Discovery

Pharmaceutical companies can speed up their drug discovery process using comprehensive databases of information about their target populations. For example, one pharmaceutical company collected data from over 4,000 patients in order to predict patient outcomes and find new drug targets. They used this data to inform a new drug treatment for people with hepatitis C that was approved by the FDA in 2016.

The same pharmaceutical company also created a personal health record (PHR) for each patient by combining information from multiple sources: medical records, hospital visits, prescription history, and test results.

The PHR includes all relevant genomic data from blood tests taken at various points throughout the course of treatment—this is important because genetic differences between individuals can affect how quickly they respond to certain drugs or even whether they’re able to tolerate them at all.

Access to such pre-recorded information will help ensure faster drug discovery in the future. Then there are digital hub services that help with data management and patient access. A robust hub services platform for pharmaceutical companies even improves drug distribution and patient satisfaction.

Also, it serves as a single source of truth for drug manufacturers, thus helping them track a patient’s journey and ensure medication adherence.

The Use of Online Questionnaires

Online questionnaires are replacing costly, time-consuming focus groups.

A common way to gather data on consumers is through focus groups. During a focus group, you put a group of people in a room together and ask them questions about their experiences with your product or service.

These discussions can be very useful for gathering qualitative information about the consumer experience—how they feel about things and what they like and dislike.

However, when it comes to quantitative data (such as numbers), online surveys are better at getting accurate answers because they don’t require participants’ active participation in the same way that focus groups do.

They also allow pharmaceutical companies to gather data from more than just one person at a time—a huge advantage if you’re trying to get an overall picture of how many patients have similar experiences with your products.

Harnessing Cloud Computing and Big Data

One of the most important aspects of modern technology is cloud computing. Cloud computing allows companies to store and analyze vast amounts of data. That, in turn, allows them to create more effective drugs for patients.

Cloud computing also allows drug researchers to get access to information about drug trials instantly, no matter where they are in the world. This is an especially helpful tool for startups looking to break into the field because they can share information with doctors without even being on-site with them.

The growing adoption of cloud computing goes hand-in-hand with the increased use of data analytics. Instead of relying on past experience and guesswork, medical researchers can make more accurate and data-driven decisions about various drugs. Also, it gives them a quantitative overview of how a new drug is performing.

Modern Technology Drives Cost-Efficiency

New-age technology is helping pharmaceutical companies save money and speed up the entire drug development process. In fact, it’s estimated that 78% of new drugs on the market have been discovered using modern technology.

One of the main reasons for this is that it reduces costs for clinical trials. Drug discovery costs are also reduced because researchers are able to screen large numbers of compounds at once rather than testing each one individually.

Finally, pharmaceutical companies can discover new uses for existing drugs by repurposing them, which saves money and time compared to developing entirely new products from scratch.

Conclusion

As we’ve discussed in this article, technology is revolutionizing the way research is conducted and how medicines are developed. We didn’t even mention all of the technological advances that have occurred in biotechnology or medical devices, but that’s a discussion for another day!

For now, it should be noted that many lives will be saved thanks to these technological advancements, which makes us excited about what else might come out as science continues its upward trajectory.