REPORT

Choosing the right target

Drug discovery researchers now have expanded options whether aiming for first-in class or best-in class

Drug discovery has been centered historically on a relatively small subset of “druggable” targets. Advances in genomic analysis have dramatically expanded the landscape, offering new sources of growth for pharmaceutical companies – and new sources of hope to underserved patient populations.

And yet, the same promising targets are usually pursued by multiple companies in a race to be “first-in-class” and to establish a market leading position. This means that to gain market share from competitors, later entrants will need to be the “best-in-class.” But how do they prove it? How and where do they learn from past research? Is it better to be best-in-class, or first-in-class?

In this report, we explore options and offer data-driven perspectives for how to take a fresh approach to identify potential drug targets.