Daiichi Sankyo Utilizes Predictive Biomarkers for Patient Stratification

London, UK, October 17, 2011 / B3C newswire / - In a recent interview with Hanson Wade, Dr Robert Beckman spoke openly about his work at Daiichi Sankyo towards incorporating predictive biomarkers into oncology drug development to achieve patient stratification.

 "Frankly there is a lot of hype around biomarkers and everybody expects them to be spectacularly successful every time. Of course, the failures don't get published in Nature and Science".

 Dr Robert Beckman, Executive Director, Clinical Development Oncology, Daiichi Sankyo

 He opens with an interesting point that reinforces just how difficult it is to get this right. The vast majority of the industry now acknowledges that biomarkers and personalized medicine are the way forward, but there are still major challenges in making this approach truly efficient and cost effective.

 "The main priorities and issues are; firstly, how to increase the use of biomarkers and classifiers in oncology drug development and how to maximize the efficiency of the clinical development plans; and secondly, how to manage limited patient availability and financial resources and how to manage risk across a portfolio of drugs and predictive biomarkers and classifiers."

 The interview goes on to discuss the strategies that Dr Beckman has implemented to overcome these challenges. The full article can be downloaded from the 4 th World Companion Diagnostics Summit Resources Page.

 Dr Beckman joins a program of 35 expert speakers from the field of companion diagnostics in Boston at the end of November.

 www.companion-dxsummit.com