Drug development post COVID-19 pandemic: toward a better system to meet current and future global health challenges

Introduction: Despite advances in drug research and development, our knowledge of the underlying molecular mechanisms of many diseases remains inadequate. This have led to limited effective medicines for several diseases. To address these challenges, efficient strategies, novel technologies, and policies are urgently needed. The main obstacles in drug discovery and development are the mounting cost, risk, and time frame needed to develop new medicines. Fair pricing and accessibility is another unmet global challenge.Areas covered: Here, the authors cover the pace, risks, cost, and challenges facing drug development processes. Additionally, they introduce disease-associated data which demand global attention and propose solutions to overcome these challenges.Expert opinion: The massive challenges encountered during drug development urgently call for a serious global rethinking of the way this process is done. A partial solution might be if many consortiums of multi-nations, academic institutions, clinicians, pharma companies, and funding agencies gather at different fronts to crowdsource resources, share knowledge and risks. Such an ecosystem can rapidly generate first-in-class molecules that are safe, effective, and affordable. We think that this article represents a wake-up call for the scientific community to immediately reassess the current drug discovery and development procedures.