Forbes magazine lists Prof. Schuhmacher's research group as one of the most important in the world

How much do the multi-billion dollar research budgets of pharmaceutical companies really contribute to the development of new drugs? This question is being investigated by the Competence Network for Life Science Innovation, which is based at the University of St. Gallen. One of its initiators and leading figures is Prof. Dr. Alexander Schuhmacher, Professor of Life Science Management and head of the bachelor's degree program of the same name at THI Business School. Now the American Forbes magazine has listed the Competence Network as one of the most important in the field of research on R&D efficiency worldwide and dedicated an extensive interview to Schuhmacher.

The author of the Forbes article estimates that around 150 billion dollars are invested worldwide in research into new drugs - per year. Worldwide, however, only 50 completely newly developed drugs were approved in 2021. So how efficiently do the research and development departments of pharmaceutical companies work, and are the immense costs worthwhile for investors and society?

Alexander Schuhmacher's Competence Network takes an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing this strategic question - experts from a wide range of disciplines work together in the network. He believes this is one of the reasons why the group is so successful. Numerous scientific publications can be traced back to its members. It is one of very few research groups in Europe to be co-funded by the U.S. FDA, the regulatory agency for new drugs.

The biggest challenge in the group's work is managing a vast amount of data, some of which is publicly available and some of which has to be requested and provided by pharmaceutical companies. The complexity of analyzing this data is increasing, in part because pharmaceutical companies are relying more and more on new technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

"Ultimately, we're creating transparency in the most important part of value creation for pharma and biotech companies, and therefore templates as well as decision-making tools for company executives."

Interview in full length - part 1

Interview - Part 2