This week Roche announced that it has pulled the plug on its diabetes drug aleglitazar, once tapped as a blockbuster hopeful.
Similarly in May, Merck discontinued investigational studies of preladenant for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
These examples of sad endings to once hopeful products happen every day in pharmaceutical operations.
Having worked in project management for a large pharma company, I know firsthand that it’s never easy to terminate a project. With years of staff time and valuable resources invested, it’s hard to let it go.
The decision to terminate a project can demoralize project managers and team members, and increase concerns about job security. For many reasons, managers tend to delay project termination decisions. However, delaying project termination diverts scarce R&D resources from higher potential projects.
Even after a project is closed, resource diversion can still be an issue. It’s not uncommon for terminated projects – at least parts of them — to continue under the radar, because a determined researcher is convinced that the project axe decision came too soon.
You would think that, given the trial-and-error nature that’s at the heart of innovative research, pharma companies would be experts at the art and science of letting go. But most would likely say they aren’t. Why? Because developing safe, effective, market-viable and FDA-approved drugs takes a really, really long time – typically 10-15 years from start to approval. (Most of the drugs on the market today were developed in the 1990s.) And second, because the majority of drugs in the early pipeline will never make it to production. On average, 60% of drugs fail during phase I, 50% fail during phase II, and 15% fail during phase III. Thus, the probability of a drug entering clinical trials making it all the way to the market is approximately 17%.
Let’s face it — R&D is inherently uncertain and risky. If you lead a pharma R&D team, how can you mentor researchers in getting wiser at the art and science of letting go? This Business Week article offers some best practices from other industries:
- Tremors and Thrills – Check the signals you’re sending to your staff. How management reacts to a well-thought-out plan that goes south makes a big difference. Acceptance reinforces a culture of risk-taking; harsh reactions breed a culture of fear.
- Failure Parties – Find ways to measure performance that balance accountability with the freedom to make intelligent mistakes.
- Find Your Own Flaws Up Front – Reframe your team’s thinking. You should not only seek positive outcomes to prove that an experiment works, but you should also take time to try to prove yourselves wrong. Looking for those potential flaws makes failure, and the lessons that come with it, occur earlier.
What have been your lessons learned in terminating projects? What has worked well for you? Share your stories!
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