SciNovations

SciNovations logo Like scientists everywhere, those in GlaxoSmithKline R&D compete for publication. And they fare very well, winning place for their papers in leading journals and at international congresses. But there is also an internal forum in which they seek to explain their work, a science fest apart from the many meetings at GSK where medicines in the making must pass scientific challenge. It’s called SciNovations, a day-long event held twice annually.

Ahead of the day, scientists will submit some 250 abstracts for review by a panel of their peers. About 15 of them will be selected for platform presentations and another 50 for poster presentations. The purpose of the event, Webcast to R&D sites in several countries, is to highlight and applaud outstanding science, to elevate it for consideration by the entire organization so that one bright idea will spark another.

Yet another feature of the day is a keynote address by a preeminent authority outside GSK.In this issue of Marathons, we offer an interview with one of those authorities, Peter Agre. He shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on aquaporins, the channels that facilitate water transport across cell membranes. As he explains, the work started as an offshoot of another line of research, and then “a contaminating protein,” the first water-channel protein to be discovered, “fell into our laps.” The remark is characteristic of his self-effacing humour, though if the discovery involved an element of chance, in this instance it really did favour an exceptionally prepared mind. See “Peter Agre: From aquaporins to advocacy.”

One example of putting science to work in R&D is an exploration of genomics in evaluating drug safety. Toxicogenomics, which looks at changes in gene expression in response to drugs, is no longer a technology outside everyday practice. Its application has been introduced across drug discovery in GSK to help evaluate drug effects on the liver. See “Toxicogenomics: Out from under glass.”

See also “Make mine espresso and the blood-pressure readings: A new way in data management.” Here the story is not scientific discovery but rather a faster way to assemble the reams of data generated by an ambitious clinical-trial program. Simply gathering this information from trial sites is a formidable task, and it exemplifies the need to closely manage the day-in, day-out complexity of a global R&D organization. Strong science must be married to strong project management, to sweating the operational details, if any new medicine is ever to reach patients.

Our “Featured Image” in this issue may appear to be unremarkable, if colourful, vials held in the palm of a hand. What astonishes is their contents. Read the caption to learn more.