Prologue: PRiME: A Vision for Accelerating Academic Drug Discovery

Monday, October 17, 2022

8:30 AM – 9:00 AM ET

Location:253 C

Prologue Speaker(s)

Carolyn Cummins, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

With novel therapeutic targets and evolving modalities in drug research to drug these targets, drug research becomes more complex.  To accelerate bringing innovative medicines that are safe and effective to patients, it is imperative that various drug properties are not interpreted in a silo but contextualized cross-functionally across scientific disciplines.

The theme of this symposium is to explore how intersection of various scientific disciplines enabled acceleration of compounds from preclinical development to the clinic, and to focus on the challenges and pitfalls between cross-functional collaborations in drug research and development.  The interaction may be between multiple scientific disciplines including (but not limited to) DMPK, toxicology, clinical pharmacology, biology, drug delivery, bioanalytical. 

An example of a strategic initiative started at the University of Toronto to promote collaboration among researchers working in drug development and precision medicine (PRiME) will be highlighted.

Learning Objectives:

Identify examples of challenges in cross-functional collaborations in drug research and development.
Propose examples of strategies to promote collaboration and encourage a culture shift that values inter-disciplinary boundary spanning.
Identify tangible methods to speed discovery through use of: i) multi-purpose formulations, ii) new technologies (including organ-on-a-chip in vitro models), ii) time saving through simulation and modeling, iv) cross-functional education that is fun, and v) creating purpose-built structures to promote collaboration.