"The demise of science in pharmaceutical companies."

Mike Wokasch said:

1) As the industry rapidly grew in the late 1990s into 2000s there was a dilution of scientific expertise across more therapeutic areas, across more companies (think biotechs), and across larger reseaarch organizations within companies

2) Pharma company management became more focused on driving revenue, quarterly results and the distractions of administrative management of these now much larger infrastructures

3) Looking for quick to market solutions to satisfy point number 2, chemical modification and the ease of finding hits through technologies such as high throughput screening detracted from "longer to deliver" innovative products resulting from a focused exploration of biology and pathophysiology of disease.

4) Larger research organizations and budgets increased bureacracy, dispersed accountability, and allowed large numbers of mediocre scientists to consume resources on mediocre projects that delivered incremental improvements in treatment of worse, had little hope for scientific success

5) The really good scientists with real expertise found it increasingly difficult (and frustrating) to do science, as they were more frequently surrounded by less competent colleaagues or promoted to manage administrative duties instead of do research.

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