Fascinating developments within the biopharmaceutical sector have been grabbing industry headlines for years now. The field is exciting and developing rapidly. However, the reality is that small, synthetic molecules remain critically important to both drug development pipelines and the market. With all of the discussion touting advances in biologies and biosimilars, some have concluded that small- molecule drugs are on their way out. This could not be further from the truth: some of the newest, cutting-edge drugs are small-molecule drugs, such as aripiprazole (Ambilify) and esomeprazole (Nexium). Novel approaches to molecular modelling and the advent of antibody drug conjugates, which deploy a small molecule warhead, are resulting in more targeted alternatives in critical fields such as oncology. Increasingly, they are being developed to address very specific patient populations based on better understanding of genetics. Small-molecule drugs continue to hold a critical place in the generic pharmaceutical landscape. It is no surprise, therefore, that companies of all sizes - including small and emerging companies- have ample small-molecule projects in process. There are, however, special considerations for small or emerging companies, such as company structure and capabilities, funding strategy, ongoing investor pitches and project management that ensures critical clinical milestones are achieved.
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