Drug Developability: the Derisker

The more you understand about your molecule earlier, the better. Discover how Abzena can help you start smart and finish fast with our 'developability' solution.

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Drug development is a balancing act.
Designing a drug means balancing everything we’d want in a perfect candidate with everything we face in reality.

We recognize that drug development is risky. Success is not guaranteed, and rate of failures are high. To work towards the ideal drug we have to overcome a host of challenges and avoid falling into the ‘valley of death’, where drugs fail between discovery and an effective proof of concept (POC).

To balance the scales more favorably, and mitigate some of the biggest risks in drug development, it is essential to gather as much information about a drug candidate early on to make better, more informed decisions further down the line. This is where the idea of ‘developability‘ comes in. Developability helps balance the scales of an ideal drug candidate vs the challenges of reality.

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The drug development balancing act

Balancing everything we would want in a perfect candidate vs. everything we face in reality.

How do Abzena allow you to start smart and finish fast? Read more below or contact our team of experts today to learn more about our ‘developability’ process.

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Drug Development

$1-2 billion

Average cost

10-15 years

Average time

90%

Rate of failure

(Sun D et al. (2022) Acta Pharm Sin B. Jul;12(7):3049-3062)

To work towards that ideal drug we have to overcome a host of challenges and avoid falling into the ‘valley of death’, where drugs fail between discovery and an effective proof of concept.

Drug Developability: Two simple questions

Balancing the scales of an ideal drug candidate vs the challenges of reality is complex. To do that, we ask two simple questions:

Can we make it?

Can we make the drug as a stable compound in the required form and quality to treat patients?

Can we make the drug at scale, with an acceptable cost, within acceptable timeframe, with enough doses to treat the patient population?

Does it work?

Does the drug do what we expected it to do – is there a predictable mechanism of action?

Does the drug have the desired efficacy?

Is the drug safe for the target patient population?

Developability is therefore identifying and managing risk early in development to reduce major cost, quality and time issues at later stages of manufacture and clinical evaluation.

Derisking through developability

By asking those simple questions, “Can we make it?” and “Does it work?” right from the start, we can start to whittle down candidates from hundreds to a handful. From there, we can keep refining the selection criteria, continually derisking a project and moving closer to that ideal drug.

Discovery

Hit generation followed by high throughput in silico and in vitro screening to screen out candidates with undesirable properties.

Lead Design & Selection

Candidates are designed and engineered to remove undesirable properties and introduce desirable properties.

Lead Characterization

Detailed biological and biophysical characterization of a small panel of molecules in order to select a lead candidate for progression.

Full Development & Manufacture

Comprehensive understanding of a single candidate and capability to develop, manufacture and deliver your drug for both clinical and commercial scale.

The steps to success

Choosing your developability package

Now you know more about what goes into the developability process at Abzena, what exactly can you get? Well, we offer both pre-defined and tailored work packages so you can get exactly what your project needs.

To find out more about our developability packages please get in touch with our experts today.

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Ready to derisk and develop your next biologic with us?

Get in touch and let’s work together to move medicine forward faster.

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