Satyam to speed up drug development

IT services and consulting company Satyam Computer Services Limited is working with 4-5 pharmaceutical companies to help them achieve a quick turnaround time in drug development that can take anywhere between 15 years and 20 years in normal course before a new product hits the drug stores.

The company is providing an integrated solution covering various stages of drug development, including analysis, validation process and better targeting besides clinical trials, to these drug companies.

"Clinical trials are particularly the most time-consuming part of a drug development project. We can significantly reduce the time by using IT tools that help in speedy consolidation and evaluation of patient data," Ram Mynampati, president (commercial and healthcare business), of the Hyderabad-based firm told Business Standard.

He did not reveal the names of the companies.

Mynampati said the company's IT solutions would substantially reduce the time cycles of a drug development programme, resulting in a huge saving for pharma companies in terms of investment and time.

Satyam currently has a team of 40 PhD scholars and medical doctors to help design the applications required in a drug development programme.

Mynampati said the capabilities acquired such as this by Satyam represented an evolution in its 20-year journey "� from implementing SAP for companies to directly getting involved in their business development.

It is also offering consulting and IT services to over 20 pharma companies, including Glaxo SmithKline and Novartis, for their front end and back office operations.