Using Powerful Questions to Align Research and Development

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Do you watch different functions blame each other for problems?

You’re not alone.

Problem: A recent client was bringing its first compound to Phase Two after decades of research on a new class of therapeutic agents. An investor deadline loomed for starting the dose-finding study.

Development was pushing to finalize the study but Research continued to oppose the design, insisting that the effect would disappear above a certain dose. Development found the arguments unconvincing. Research increasingly questioned the competence of the Development staff. Read more

Finding the Best Path to a Clinical Protocol Design

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Can’t get people out of their silos?

You’re not alone.

Problem: An early-stage company needed to demonstrate Proof of Concept for a novel therapy, but the organization could not reach agreement on a clinical protocol design.

My client Peter, the Program Executive, vented his frustration to me:

“Dr. C [the Clinical Director] withdraws, withholds information, doesn’t inform me or the program team about anything, comes up with a suboptimal design, gets his boss on board, the Portfolio Review Committee rejects the proposal, and we end up losing a lot of time. This has happened a couple of times already.”

The Portfolio Committee told the team that the only solution was to bring in outside experts.

Solution: Instead of blaming Clinical, I helped the Program Executive step back. Read more