Insights from the Trade Mission: Fios in Geneva and Basel

On the 14th-15th May, Dr John Bray, Business Development Manager at Fios, attended a trade mission in Switzerland on ‘Data-Driven Innovation in Drug Discovery and Development’.

Scottish Development International and the Department for International Trade organised the two-day trade mission to Basel and Geneva, allowing UK-based companies (including Fios) to showcase the life science industry in the UK and meet companies based nearby. With over 700 life science companies and 900 logistics companies, and the third largest trade partner with the UK, Switzerland is a fantastic place to meet new companies and network.

There were three main themes that emerged from the trade mission: the impact of data analysis; global connections; and access to data.

The Impact of Data Analysis on Drug Discovery

Over both days, panel discussions and talks focussed on the impact of big data analysis. Data analysis can reduce the time it takes together a product to market, which can be a significant hurdle for the development of novel therapeutics. At Fios, we work with in-house teams of bioinformaticians in addition to acting as external bioinformatics providers to enable our clients to get the most from their data. The benefits of good data analysis cannot be overstated, enabling novel drug targets to be identified as well as repurposing pre-existing drugs for new therapeutic areas. Better use of data analysis can also help reduce costs, as drugs that are not performing as expected can be identified earlier, as well as be repurposed for other areas of interest.

Global Connections

One of the goals from the trade mission was to connect people – success in drug discovery comes from having a global perspective. By connecting industry with academia and policymakers, there should be a reduction in barriers to data-driven innovation and the wider life sciences market. With nearly 50 attendees over the two days, an important focus was to create more global and national networks that can benefit the drug development and discovery pathways. By reducing the barriers to innovation, the market can flourish.

Access to Data

Access to data is a barrier to innovation that can manifest in many ways. Data needed may not be available through open-access sources or may not be available for a variety of other reasons. With better connections, the issue surrounding access due to data being held privately should diminish, but that is not the only reason that access to data can be a barrier.

Data access is also linked with infrastructure requirements. While it is better than before, not everyone will be connected to the same datasets. The volume of data generated during drug and therapeutics discovery is also huge – the right infrastructure is needed to ensure that analysis can be carried out in a timely manner. Data volume is not, however, the main issue compared to the quality of the data collected. It is most important that the data is well annotated and curated.

With beautiful backdrops of two Swiss cities, the two days were beneficial – networking with both Swiss and other UK companies as well we had the chance to know more about the common ‘pain-points’ and the potential opportunities for boosting data-driven innovation in drug discovery.

To find out more about how we can help with data challenges in drug discovery, visit our Bioinformatics Services page now.