Inotiv

Our innovation is primarily fueled by our dedicated team and extensive experience, providing our customers with the knowledge and expertise necessary to propel their projects forward.”

Scott Daniels is the senior vice president, Drug Metabolism & Pharmacokinetics at Inotive. Daniels has been a pharmaceutical executive for over 15 years with an expertise in biotransformation and drug metabolism and has published in the fields of drug metabolism, chemical toxicology, and pharmacology.

Andrew Brown is the director of Drug Discovery Portfolio Marketing at Inotive with over 22 years of experience in academia and biotechnology. Brown has a proven track record in driving key projects, developing and marketing innovative agricultural and in vivo products and services, and possessing expertise in gene-based analyses and gene editing in plant and animal systems.

In an exclusive interview with Life Sciences Review, Daniels and Brown shares their valuable insights on the challenges, trends and best practices in the Life Sciences space.

What are some of your roles and responsibilities on a daily basis in your organization?

Scott: Being the Senior Vice President of Drug Discovery and Translational Sciences at Inotiv, my role centers on the strategic and tactical implementation of evolving scientific disciplines to tackle complex therapeutic modalities. In collaboration with clients, we aim to comprehend the efficacy and safety of new therapies, to emphasize efficacy, early safety, biomarkers, and leading indicators of clinical success translation. We established a dedicated drug discovery and translational sciences business unit within Inotiv. This unit is specifically designed to address questions arising during the discovery stage, allowing us to comprehensively approach the challenges of advancing therapeutic development.

Andrew: As the director of our Drug Discovery marketing portfolio, my responsibilities are similar to Scott’s. My role is to communicate our overall message to the market and our value propositions in drug discovery services, including disease pharmacology, drug metabolism, and proteomic services. I leverage multiple channels to reach our target customer base and understand their needs, ensuring we deliver the right message to the market. This includes disease pharmacology, drug metabolism, and proteomic services.

What are some of the recent trends and major pain points that are affecting the Life Sciences space as of now?

The contract research organization (CRO) industry grapples with various challenges, operating in a traditional manner reminiscent of toxicology or bio analytical outsourcing. Over the last decade or 15 years, there has been a noticeable shift in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and biopharma sectors, with an increasing willingness to collaborate with CROs for their discovery endeavors. However, a significant hurdle for CROs lies in adapting their standardized approach to contract discovery, demanding a fresh perspective and innovative solutions.

"We at Inotiv, has established a dedicated business unit for drug discovery and translational sciences, aiming to address research questions and tackle challenges in therapeutic development"

Guided by the visionary leadership of CEO Bob Leisure, CROs have embarked on a strategic journey to transform into contemporary drug discovery and development entities. These organizations are now open to undertaking contract discovery and embracing a culture of innovation. Recognizing the evolving landscape, they are compelled to grapple with novel and intricate therapeutic modalities. To meet this challenge, one notable initiative within the realm of Drug Discovery and Translational Sciences (DTS) involves restructuring scientific disciplines into solution-oriented units. This strategic move equips them to effectively address the unique demands of each therapeutic modality, fostering a dynamic and forward-thinking approach within the industry.

Could you share details about any recent project initiatives you’ve been involved in, particularly those addressing challenges that you find particularly exciting?

Scott: Over the years, the organization has adapted to pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies’ operational paradigms, focusing on therapeutic interventions like engineered proteins, peptides, oligonucleotides, gene regulation, gene editing, and RNA therapeutics. Recent advancements in targeted protein degradation have gained interest. A key initiative involves integrating molecular and cell sciences, molecular pathology, proteomics, and proteogenomic capabilities to orchestrate pharmacological models in five therapeutic domains. This initiative is crucial during the discovery phase, providing insights into the effects of therapies on cellular, animal, and human models.

Andrew: Like Scott mentioned, the goal has been to assemble critical pieces of drug discovery to move projects forward. This involves listening to clients, understanding their pain points, and assembling the appropriate pieces. The appropriate pieces include disease pharmacology and drug metabolism disciplines, coupled with our scientific expertise. The key part of our innovation is our people and experience, which we demonstrate and provide access to our customers to drive their projects forward. This approach ensures that our clients have access to the knowledge and expertise needed to drive their projects forward.

Is there any piece of advice that you would like to give to an aspiring professional or a peer that might help them navigate these changes?

Scott: I would suggest to focus on the importance of interdisciplinary approach in modern therapeutic intervention for up-and-coming scientists and investigators in the pharma, biopharma, biotech, and CRO industries. Reassembling the right components of the orchestra of science to tackle therapeutic modalities questions, rather than adopting the traditional drug discovery approach is vital.

The emphasis should be placed on tailoring solutions for each project, ensuring the alignment of the appropriate drug with the specific needs of the individual patient at the correct juncture. In addition, it is important to have the right model, tools, and analytical framework for each project, along with the involvement of pertinent scientific experts in the respective therapeutic areas. Our objective at Inotive is to grant clients access to a fully assembled and operational drug discovery unit, offering a comprehensive and innovative approach to the entire process.

Andrew: Adding to what Scott said, having a good understanding of the various components of drug discovery and being creative in thinking is imperative. Additionally, moving away from the traditional approach, mentioned Scott has its pros and cons but emphasizes the need to understand the various therapeutic areas, stages of drug development, and different modalities with new drugs proves crucial. Being passionate about studying these subjects, advancing them to market or in terms of further development is pivotal for achieving success in the pharmaceutical industry.