EDITOR'S NOTE
A LIFE SCIENCE CONNEC T BRAND
Don't Be Stupid,
Keep It Simple
JANUARY 2014
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Dan Schell
(814) 897-9000, Ext. 284
dan.schell@lifescienceleader.com
CHIEF EDITOR: Rob Wright
(814) 897-9000, Ext. 140
rob.wright@lifescienceconnect.com
VP OF PUBLISHING: Jon Howland
(814) 897-9000, Ext. 203
jon.howland@lifescienceleader.com
PUBLISHER, CLINICAL & CONTRACT RESEARCH:
Sean Hoffman
(724) 940-7557, Ext. 165
sean.hoffman@lifescienceleader.com
ASSOC. PUBLISHER/BIOPHARM & LAB: Shannon Primavere
(814) 897-7700, Ext. 279
shannon.primavere@lifescienceleader.com
PUBLISHER/OUTSOURCING: Cory Coleman
(814) 897-7700, Ext. 108
cory.coleman@lifescienceleader.com
GROUP PUBLISHER/OUTSOURCING: Ray Sherman
(814) 897-7700, Ext. 335
ray.sherman@lifescienceleader.com
BUSINESS DEV. MGR.: Mike Barbalaci
(814) 897-7700, Ext. 218
mike.barbalaci@lifescienceleader.com
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE,
PACKAGING & SERIALIZATION: Evan Lagacé
(814) 897-7700, Ext. 119
evan.lagace@lifescienceleader.com
SR. ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Scott Moren
(814) 897-7700, Ext. 118
scott.moren@lifescienceleader.com
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Lynn Netkowicz
(814) 897-9000, Ext. 205
lynn.netkowicz@jamesonpublishing.com
DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEV.: Mindy Fadden
(814) 897-9000, Ext. 208
mindy.fadden@jamesonpublishing.com
Life Science Leader
5340 Fryling Rd., Suite 300
Erie, PA 16510-4672
Telephone: (814) 897-7700 ● Fax: (814) 899-4648
LIFE SCIENCE LEADER (ISSN: 21610800) Vol. 6, No. 1 is published
monthly by VertMarkets at Knowledge Park, 5340 Fryling Road,
Suite 300, Erie, PA 16510-4672. Phone (814) 897-9000, Fax (814)
899-5580. Periodical postage paid at Erie, PA 16510 and additional
mailing offices. Copyright 2013 by Peterson Partnership. All rights
reserved. Print PP. Printed in the USA.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES for qualified readers in the U.S. $0. For
non-qualified readers in the U.S. and all other countries $97 for
one year. If your mailing address is outside the U.S. or Canada,
you can receive the magazine digitally if you provide a valid email
address. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections (Form 3579) to
Life Science Leader, Knowledge Park, 5340 Fryling Road, Suite 300,
Erie, PA 16510-4672.
6
LifeScienceLeader.com
Ever heard of the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle? The
general idea behind it is that systems perform best when the
design is simple, not complex. My favorite example demonstrating the application of KISS, as well as the impact of failing
to do so, is captured in a scene in the 1995 movie Apollo 13.
An incident necessitates three astronauts use the lunar module (LM), a ship built just
for landing on the moon, as a lifeboat to survive. The LM is designed and equipped to
provide two people 36 hours of life support, not three crew members the 96 hours it
will take to get back to earth. As a result, the ship begins to develop an unsafe buildup of CO2. The LM CO2 filtration system uses cylindrical filters, all of which have
been used up. The command module's CO2 filters are square. This fact exemplifies
a failure in executing the KISS principle between the designers of the LM (Northrop
Grumman), the command and service modules (North American Aviation), and
NASA. When NASA ground control realizes this, engineers are pressed to concoct a
solution, demonstrating the successful application of KISS. In the movie, the engineers enter the room and dump a box of supplies (available to the astronauts) on
a table. The lead engineer defines the problem verbally, visually, and simplistically.
"We gotta find a way to make this [holds up the square filter in his right hand], fit into
the hole for this [holds up the cylindrical filter in his left hand], using nothing but
that," he concludes, placing both filters back on the table and pointing to the available materials. When you see it, the problem seems obvious, the solution simple, and
something which could have been prevented with better front end planning — KISS.
This is how I imagine former J&J; VP Gary Neil felt when he first had the idea for
creating a stand-alone nonprofit organization in an attempt to tackle skyrocketing
drug discovery and development costs. "If we were to come together and try to
define standards, it would be an enabler for efficiencies for everyone," he stated.
Though Neil's epiphany may not have been original, his execution on a solution
— TransCelerate — has proven to be. Its formula is simple. Bring pharmaceutical
companies together to solve common, precompetitive problems, and all will benefit.
Want to learn more about TransCelerate's approach? Check out the article on page
24 featuring TransCelerate CEO Dalvir Gill. As you read, keep in mind that though
the solution is simple, the key to success is execution — which can be challenging
when applying the KISS principle across all the member companies.
Simplification seems to be a consistent theme nowadays in the pharmaceutical R&D;
space. At a recent executive thought leadership roundtable sponsored by NextDocs,
the focus was on how to improve clinical trials. The consensus among attendees was
— if you want better clinical trials, and want them to go faster, spend most of your
time planning the design. Start by first determining if you are asking the right questions. "Don't ask a bunch of useless questions," said one drug development veteran.
"The more data you ask for, the higher your
costs are going to be." Try applying the KISS
principle to prevent your drug development
costs from going sky high.
Rob Wright
rob.wright@lifescienceconnect.com
@RFWrightLSL
January 2014