Inotiv

Scott Daniels

“Our innovation is primarily fueled by our dedicated team and extensive experience, providing our customers with the knowledge and expertise necessary to propel their projects forward.”

Dr. Scott Daniels has been a part of R&D organizations for over two decades and possesses a passion for multidisciplinary science that led him to the Inotiv Corporation where he currently serves as Senior Vice President of Discovery & Translational Sciences. The culmination of Dr. Daniel’s experiences have afforded him the opportunity to translate an operational construct into a new and emerging services concept aimed at companies emersed in early-to-late staged drug discovery; an arena where Inotiv’s consultative-based partnered research model thrives.

Andrew Brown is the Director of Drug Discovery Portfolio Marketing at Inotiv with over 22 years of Life Science experience in academia and biotechnology. Brown has a proven track record in driving key projects, developing and marketing innovative in vivo products and services, and possessing expertise in gene-based analyses and gene editing in plant and animal systems.

In an exclusive interview with Life Sciences Review, Daniels and Brown shares their valuable insights on the challenges, trends and best practices in the Life Sciences space.

What are some of your roles and responsibilities at Inotiv?

Scott: Our role centers on the strategic and tactical implementation of evolving scientific disciplines to tackle complex therapeutic modalities. In collaboration with clients, we at Inotiv, aim to understand the efficacy and safety goals of new therapies: emphasizing the biomarkers, and leading indicators of clinical success translation. We established a dedicated drug discovery and translational sciences business unit within Inotiv. This unit is specifically designed to support clients during the discovery stage, allowing us to comprehensively approach the challenges of advancing therapeutic development.

Andrew: As the Director of our Drug Discovery Marketing Portfolio, our role is to communicate our overall scientific message to the market and our value propositions in drug discovery services, including disease pharmacology, drug metabolism, and proteomic services. We leverage multiple channels to reach our target customer base and understand their needs, ensuring we deliver the right message to the market relative to their needs within drug discovery and development.

What are some of the recent trends and major pain points that are affecting the Life Sciences space as of now?

The contract research organization (CRO) industry grapples with various challenges, operating in a traditional manner reminiscent of toxicology or bio analytical outsourcing. Over the last 15 years, there has been a noticeable shift in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and biopharma sectors, with an increasing willingness to collaborate with CROs for their discovery endeavors. However, a significant hurdle for CROs lies in adapting their standardized approach to contract discovery, demanding a fresh perspective and innovative solutions.

Guided by the visionary leadership of Inotiv’s Executive Team, Inotiv has embarked on a strategic journey to transform itself into contemporary drug discovery and development Company. Inotiv is now open to undertaking contract-to-discover opportunities as it leverages its culture of innovation. Recognizing the evolving landscape, CROs are compelled to grapple with novel and intricate therapeutic modalities. To meet this challenge, one initiative within Drug Discovery and Translational Sciences (DTS) involves restructuring scientific disciplines into solution-oriented teams. This strategic move equips them to effectively address the unique demands of each therapeutic modality, fostering a dynamic and forward-thinking approach within the industry.

Could you provide an overview of a recent project initiative that you have been involved in, particularly those addressing challenges that you find exciting?

Over the years, the organization has adapted to pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies' operational paradigms, focusing on therapeutic interventions like engineered proteins, peptides, oligonucleotides, gene regulators and editors, and RNA-targeted therapeutics. Recent advancements in targeted protein degradation have also gained traction. A key initiative involves the integration of molecular and cell sciences, molecular pathology, and proteogenomic capabilities into a team working in concert in to support of a biotherapeutic sector of drug discovery   across multiple therapeutic areas. This initiative is crucial during the discovery phase, providing insights into the mechanism of therapeutic intervention, the safety of novel therapies, and the predicted clinical success of our client’s drug programs.  

The goal has been to assemble critical pieces of drug discovery to move projects toward translation of discovery ideas to drugs. This involves listening to clients, understanding their pain points, and assembling the appropriate pieces. This includes disease pharmacology and drug metabolism disciplines, coupled with our scientific expertise. The key part of our innovation is our people and experience, which we demonstrate and provide access to our customers to drive their projects forward.

Is there any piece of advice that you would like to give to an aspiring professional or a peer that might help them navigate these changes?

I would suggest them to develop an interdisciplinary approach to scientific investigation, as the modern therapeutic intervention discoveries from biopharma, biotech, and CRO industries require such an approach. An ability to assemble teams made up of several scientific components will prove to be a successful recipe for success in a contemporary drug discovery company.

An emphasis should be placed on tailoring solutions for each project, ensuring the alignment of the appropriate investigation with the specific needs of the individual drug candidate at the correct juncture. In addition, it is important to have the right model, tools, and analytical framework for each project, along with the involvement of pertinent scientific experts in the respective therapeutic areas. Our objective at Inotiv is to grant clients access to a fully assembled and operational drug discovery unit, offering a comprehensive and innovative approach to the entire process.

Adding to what Scott said, having a good understanding of the various components of drug discovery and being creative in thinking is imperative. Additionally, moving away from the traditional approach, mentioned by Scott has its pros and cons but emphasizes the need to understand the various therapeutic areas, stages of drug development, and different modalities with new drugs proves crucial. Being passionate about studying these subjects, advancing them to market or in terms of further development is pivotal for achieving success in the pharmaceutical industry.