Biomedicalin the Industrial Setting: Contrasts and Similarities to Academia

THE INVESTMENT by the US pharmaceutical insustry in biomedical research currently exceeds $4.5lion each year. 1,2 e 1983 the private industrialhas surpassed the Nationaltutes of Health (NIH) in the magnitude of its budget for health research and development. 1 physicians have some familiarity with academic-basedatively few physicians either have contact with or knowledge of the activities undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry in the discovery and development of new drugs. Having spent four years in industry after 15 years in academia, Ihave been struck by the contrasts as well as the similarities to research in the academicor. It is also clear that research in the industrial setting is undergoing change and that it may face new challenges. This article describes the content, management, and changes occurring in ibiomedical research, with particular emphasis on comparisons ware-c-based search. Drug Discovery and Development The various disciplines that constitute pharmaceutical research may be grouped under