Role of Bioanalytical Laboratories In Effective Drug Development & Assay

Bioanalytical approaches form the core of a clinical drug development process. They are so critical because data generated from bioanalytical studies define the success of a potential drug compound. Besides, bioanalytical solutions are necessary for directing drug compounds to specific areas of treatment. Most importantly, they are vital criteria for successful regulatory approval. Hence, having a reliable bioanalytical laboratory as a testing partner becomes crucial for effective drug development.

Bioanalytical laboratories are involved at every step of the drug discovery and development process. In the process of drug discovery, bioanalytical laboratories help identify and characterize potential drug compounds for subsequent clinical studies. Hence, they play a significant role in effective assay and drug development. Let us dive deep and understand how testing partners such as NorthEast bioanalytical laboratories help with bioanalysis at different stages of drug development processes.

How do bioanalytical laboratories help in assay and drug development processes?

FDA requires that studies supporting the drug development process must be thoroughly validated and adhered to regulatory compliances. These regulatory expectations need quality review, experimentation, curation and storage, SOPs, and adequate documentation supported with bioanalytical reports. Hence, adhering to such high expectations can be often difficult, particularly for small-size companies. Hence, outsourcing most of these studies to a partner laboratory with a proven track record of regulatory compliance is a win for drug developers. Moreover, different regulatory bodies have diverse requirements and expectations specific to the region. Besides, most regional regulatory bodies have individual development and validation guidance. Therefore working with bioanalytical laboratories is beneficial as they have the experience and knowledge about regional requirements.

As bioanalytical studies involve complex and diverse biological samples from preclinical animals, tissues, and humans, they are challenging to design and execute. Hence, the method used to test these samples should be robust enough to consider and evaluate the differences observed with such diverse study samples. Due to the exposure to a broad range of drug development projects, bioanalytical laboratories can identify barriers early in the drug development process. Besides, most testing partners recommend beginning method validation early in drug testing as it can be cost-effective for analyzing samples in the longer term.

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Moreover, developing a bioanalytical method is entirely new for most small and mid-size companies. Bioanalytical development requires intensive expertise and knowledge of the compound of interest in biological samples. Acquiring these resources in-house may not be possible for most companies, and hence they prefer partnering with a reliable CRO. Not to mention, today most drug analysis is conducted through advanced MS-based instruments. MS-based systems require specialized training and increase the overall cost of drug development. Bioanalytical laboratories also alleviate the pressure from drug developing companies by becoming an extended version of their laboratories and conducting additional drug analyses.

The road ahead for bioanalytical laboratories in drug development

Sponsors and drug developers are relying increasingly on bioanalytical laboratories for numerous drug development needs. The ability to outsource drug testing, parallelly reduce development costs, and accelerate timelines has made bioanalytical laboratories the core component of drug development projects.