Data integration accelerates drug creation

Real-world data and evidence spark innovation in new drug creation

Drug discovery data varies greatly and includes big data in healthcare (real-world data, or “RWD”) concerning prescriptions, insurers, electronic medical records, genomics, digital biomarkers, and more. Using advanced analytics and AI to analyze this data can lead to dramatic changes in the research process, like discovering new evidence, creating new drug candidates, and improving the probability of successful drug discovery.

Japan lagged other countries in real-world data distribution, but the Japanese government's relaxation of regulations and the emergence of data vendors have provided momentum for leveraging this data in country.

Meanwhile, Chugai Pharmaceutical has contended with the data-related challenges faced by many other companies. The company sought to identify a powerful and highly secure analytics platform that could stably and effectively handle big data and add enterprise-wide value. 

Chugai adopts Teradata VantageCloud: The complete cloud analytics and data platform for AI

Chugai worked to enhance the efficiency of its IT infrastructure by integrating internal data and building an enterprise analytics platform.

“In 2016, the acquisition of commercial RWD in Japan and the full-fledged utilization of completed or ongoing clinical trial data had not started,” says Hideharu Yamamoto, deputy head, biometrics department, clinical development division at Chugai Pharmaceutical.

“We started thinking, however, that we needed to actively leverage RWD as a substitute for clinical trial control groups when applying for an approval. We also needed to strengthen product value and look for new value by leveraging acquired clinical trial data. Lastly, we needed to achieve greater efficiency by leveraging the various kinds of data that can be acquired through business operation processes. One way of making that a reality was to consider the adoption of a data platform that could perform high-speed processing of comparatively large amounts of big data.”

To overcome these hurdles and promote the leveraging of data, Chugai Pharmaceutical decided to adopt VantageCloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS), integrating and leveraging various types of data—including real-world data.

“Teradata is well established and has a great track record in various industries, so we felt that we could rely on them,” says Taku Takada, deputy head, biometrics department, clinical development division at Chugai Pharmaceutical. “When introducing VantageCloud, it was necessary to train in-house engineers with a certain level of skill. There was a great expectation that promoting the use of VantageCloud would improve the momentum of data utilization within the company."

“We’ve performed RWD analyses using VantageCloud in numerous trials and for applications of approval,” says Yamamoto. “It also functions as a platform for the analysis of business activities generated during our operations. While the diversification of clinical trial data and use of solutions other than data warehouses are both areas where we’re seeing progress, we intend to continue using the platform as a solution that provides high-performance analysis while transitioning to the cloud.”