We know development. Here is what our scientists think about it.
Why Stability Data Is Non-Negotiable Every regulatory filing for a drug substance or drug product, from the earliest IND or IMPD through to a marketing authorisation application, requires stability data. That data answers one fundamental question: for how long can the product be stored under defined conditions and remain within specification? The answer determines the […]
Why Concentration Data Alone Is Not Enough A bioanalytical study produces concentration-time data: measurements of drug (and sometimes metabolite) levels in biological matrices at defined timepoints. That data is necessary, but on its own it does not answer the questions that matter for drug development. How does exposure change with dose? What is the relationship […]
The Last Mile Problem in Clinical Supply A clinical trial can have the most rigorous bioanalytical programme and the most carefully designed protocol in the world, but if the investigational medicinal product (IMP) does not arrive at the investigator site in the right condition, at the right time, and with the right documentation, none of […]
What Flow Cytometry Offers That Other Techniques Cannot Flow cytometry measures multiple physical and chemical characteristics of individual cells as they pass, one by one, through a laser beam. Each cell scatters light in a pattern determined by its size and internal complexity, and emits fluorescence from labelled antibodies or other probes bound to specific […]
Biomarkers Are No Longer Optional in Drug Development A decade ago, biomarkers were an add-on to many clinical development programmes: interesting, potentially informative, but rarely central to regulatory decision-making. That has changed. The growth of precision medicine, the expansion of companion diagnostic requirements, and the increasing use of biomarker-defined patient populations in oncology and rare […]
Why Immunogenicity Matters for Biologic Drugs Biologic drugs, including monoclonal antibodies, fusion proteins, ADCs, and gene therapy vectors, are structurally complex molecules derived from biological systems. When administered to patients, they can trigger an immune response. The body may produce antibodies directed against the therapeutic molecule itself: anti-drug antibodies, or ADAs. The clinical consequences of […]
Why ADCs Are a Bioanalytical Category of Their Own Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are one of the most complex therapeutic modalities in the modern oncology pipeline. An ADC consists of a monoclonal antibody linked to a cytotoxic small molecule payload via a chemical linker. The three components are designed to work in concert: the antibody targets […]
Where Clinical Data Is Actually Lost In a well-designed clinical trial, the analytical plan, the bioanalytical methods, the statistical model, and the regulatory strategy all receive careful attention. What often receives less attention is the physical act of collecting, labelling, processing, and shipping the biological samples that all of that methodology depends on. Yet errors […]
Why Particle Size Matters for Oral Drug Absorption The Noyes-Whitney equation, a cornerstone of pharmaceutical dissolution science, tells us that the rate of dissolution of a solid is proportional to its surface area. Reducing the particle size of a poorly soluble API increases the surface area exposed to the dissolution medium, which increases the dissolution […]
Formulation Change Is Inevitable It is the rare pharmaceutical development programme that reaches Phase III with exactly the same formulation that entered Phase I. Scale-up changes, stability-driven modifications, bioavailability improvements, and the practical realities of manufacturing optimisation all result in formulation differences between the early clinical and the intended commercial product. This is not a […]
The Commercial Life of a Drug Molecule A new drug’s commercial life is bounded by its patent estate. The composition of matter patent, which covers the chemical structure of the active ingredient, is typically the most valuable piece of IP and is usually filed at or near the time of initial synthesis. By the time […]
Why Solid Form Characterisation Starts with XRPD X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) is the most widely used technique for characterising the crystalline structure of pharmaceutical solids. Every crystalline form of a drug substance produces a unique diffraction pattern, a fingerprint determined by the arrangement of molecules in the crystal lattice. This fingerprint allows scientists to identify […]
