Reducing pharmaceutical risk.
This article describes several types of risk encountered in drug discovery, development and marketing, as well as the overall business risks in the pharmaceutical industry. Discovery risk refers to the risk companies face if they are partly or totally dependent on discovering new drugs; many avenues are presented for companies to pursue in order to decrease discovery risk. Development risk is defined as the risk that drug discoveries that enter development will not reach the market and become commercially viable drugs. To decrease development risk, it is possible to pursue one or more of the approaches presented. Significant marketing risks for a company include that the sales forecasts will not be met, the positioning of a drug may not be correct or optimal and the sales force is not performing adequately. At the corporate level there are numerous major risks involved in pursuing the specific mission, objectives, strategies and tactics of the overall company as well as those in the functional areas. Many aspects of the company's business can be adjusted or changed to decrease corporate risk. Selected issues concerning risk include venture capital funds, the appetite for risk within a company and the influence of senior and middle level managers' personalities on risk.
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Scientific and Regulatory Affairs of PhRMA, Washington, DC, USA.