Dick Kouri

There is an intelligence gap in early stages of drug discovery R&D. The amount of innovation and progress made in this space every day is enormous and identifying all relevant trends, discoveries and developments is not an easy task. There are several data sources that attempt to collect structured information, like patents and publications, and provide some level of convenient search through their artifacts. As it relates to drug discovery however, this information is somewhat dated and does not always match current thinking. It is clear that an overwhelming amount of relevant information is available as unstructured data on blogs, message boards, companies? and organizations? web sites. A capability to mine this unstructured data will provide more current and comprehensive knowledge to render more effective decision making by pharmaceutical companies. This project is the first iteration of BIG and serves as a Pilot to: (1) test the viability of the technical approach, (2) assess performance, (3)determine scalability requirements for BIG and (4) implement one or more end-to-end scenarios which could be demonstrated to potential BIG users.

Biopharma is complex, ambiguous, fast-evolving, highly entrepreneurial, science-driven, expensive and ethically-charged. Biopharma industries require specially trained management in order to compete and grow effectively. The NC State University College of Management?s BioPharma Management Initiative (BPMI) aims to provide management education and resources for professionals working in all the industries impacted by biotechnology. The BPMI is building curricula that provide technology and business students the skill sets they will need to manage effectively in this critical set of industries. The BioPharma Forum is presented as part of the BPMI?s mission to provide the education and experiential platform for acquiring the skill sets necessary for effective management of the biopharma industries. The forum provides a venue for discussion of management and leadership issues. It is open to the public, and its primary audience is individuals working in the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and life science industries.