Biochemist Patrick Flagmeier is keen to bridge the gap between academic research and the pharmaceutical industry by describing the process of how the discovery of a molecule in research is translated into a successful launch to make a medicine available to patients.
He is Chief of Staff, Therapeutic Modalities, Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development at Roche in Basel, Switzerland. The unit he works at discovers and translates cutting-edge science in the pursuit of delivering life-changing benefits to patients.
He acknowledges that as a PhD student he had only a vague understanding of the process from the start of a research program to launching a drug on the market. Now he wants to help students understand each stage of the work needed to bring a medicine to the market. He has helped to create a 30-hour lecture course aimed at Master’s and PhD students that plots every step of the way, offering deep industry knowledge as well as career inspiration. He first presented the course on ‘End-to-End R&D in Industry’ at ETH Zurich.
Patrick says: “It’s important for science students to learn about end-to-end research and development in the pharmaceutical industry and the different types of jobs, since most of today’s students are likely to decide not to stay in academia. They should be aware of what opportunities exist in research and development, in pharma and the innovation ecosystem, the type of questions industry asks and how they are approached.
Typically, students are less or not at all exposed to what it means to discover a molecule and how to run clinical trials. The course starts with a general overview of what the individual steps are, starting a project with target identification through all the different stages of discovery with high-throughput screening, in vivo experiments and if a suitable candidate molecule is found conducting clinical trials. If the drug is found to be safe and beneficial, in simplified terms, you can apply for regulatory approval and potentially launch it as a medicine. The lecture has examples and case studies on all phases and additional aspects such as decision-making.”
Patrick studied for his PhD in Chemistry at St John’s with the College’s former Master, Prof Sir Christopher Dobson (2001), working closely with Prof Tuomas Knowles (2004), Prof Michele Vendruscolo, and Prof Sir David Klenerman, where his research focused on the aggregation of proteins, a process associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
He says: “The PhD had two aspects: the mechanism of protein aggregation, and how protein aggregates can disrupt membranes, which is thought to be one of the toxic effects. I was interested in the fundamentals of protein misfolding and aggregation, and that’s why I then chose this area as a focus for my PhD research.”
Although he loved the research, and his time at St John’s, especially the postgraduate community, Patrick realised he would enjoy working in larger teams and closer to industry. After completing his PhD he went on to carry out an MBA program that enables working in industry, in Patrick’s case the life science and technology company Merck. Afterwards he worked with McKinsey for five years, with a continued focus on life sciences. There he collaborated with colleagues and clients in the pharmaceutical industry on strategic topics across the pharma value chain.
Last year he moved to Roche, where he now works as Chief of Staff in the Therapeutic Modalities unit that works on the early parts of research and development. He says: “It was a unique opportunity to go from consulting into the research environment. The business experience from the MBA and consulting has been very valuable though as it provides an overview on all parts of the industry.”
The lecture course provides an overview on the value chain with a focus on the R&D environment. He explains: “Simplified, it starts with target identification; so that you know what biological target is associated with a disease that you want to develop a medicine for. That can be a mutation in a gene that leads to a malfunctioning protein, for example.
“Once you have a target, you need to identify molecules that can modulate its activity with the goal that the modulation finally leads to a benefit for patients. And once you identify a molecule that can bind and modulate activity, you typically optimise this molecule for specific properties. You really think about what properties make a molecule more suitable as a drug candidate. And how you can improve the binding.”
He adds that the next step is currently carrying out in-vivo experiments, although the ecosystem is working on finding alternatives, before testing the effect of the molecule in clinical trials. “And in these clinical trials assess safety and efficacy of the molecule and whether this leads to a beneficial outcome for patients.”
The final stage is taking the drug to market.
He says: “Across the lecture there are examples and case studies such that the students get an understanding of what are considerations in industry to discover and develop medicines.”
Patrick is making a condensed version of the course and would be willing to present it to students at the University of Cambridge. Contact development@joh.cam.ac.uk for details..