You advise a wide range of companies in the peptide field. What do you think is the biggest challenge these companies are facing today?
I’m engaged with many start-ups and early-stage biotech companies, and they vary considerably in terms of their modus operandi with respect to some being more virtual relative to outsourcing R&D activities versus others building such capabilities internally. In one way or another, the initial (and/or sustained) challenge is oftentimes funding. On the scientific side, it is nowadays the time factor. For example, how long it will take to produce a “wave” of peptide analogs for testing? And, how long it will take to test such peptides in vitro and/or in vivo, including preclinical disease models for efficacy or related pharmacokinetic, safety and drug delivery studies? Strategies for expediting drug discovery are a continuous focus for most pharma and biotech companies.