Understanding pharmacology in humans: Phase I and Phase II (data generation)

The discovery of novel drugs is a complex and highly regulated process organized around a critical moment, that is, when the novel compound is tested in humans. This process encompasses a series of clinical studies, identified as Phase I and Phase II, whose composite outcome should deliver the data needed for an informed decision about progressing or not the compound in full development (Phase III). Over the last 10 years the global delivery of novel treatments from the pharmaceutical industry has plunged to the level of the '70ies in spite of a 10-fold larger investment, the differential mostly due to failures in Phase III. There is the need to improve the decision making at the early clinical stage by using innovation and the high-profile achievements of basic science generated in academic and biomedical labs. A specific attention should be paid to applied biotechnologies, in particular nanotechnology and biomedical devices not only for drug deliver but also for biomarker detection. This path, also supported by regulatory agencies, is calling for an important change of perspective about how drug discovery is made, which we believe should start from the full implementation of the paradigm of Translational Medicine.