For centuries, serendipity has played a key role in drug discovery, but when these examples took place, the drug development process was far simpler than it is today. The best-known modern instance, sildenafil, entered clinical trials as a vasodilator to combat angina, but by 1992, it was clear that it was not going to pan out. Pfizer, the company developing the drug, aborted the trial and asked participants to return the unused drug. Many of the men who had been taking the drug, however, not the placebo, balked. Researchers didn’t make a connection until rumors surfaced about the drug's sexual side effects, and, more significantly, read a paper on the role of the target enzyme in the chemical pathway of erection. The drug, it turned out, affected the arterial enzymes of the penis far more than those of the heart, and today Viagra™ is a mainstay of men's medicine cabinets the world over.

Read the full article here.

LSIT is pleased to welcome our newest member, Mission3, Inc.. Based in Phoenix, Mission3 assists Life Sciences organizations bring much-needed drugs, therapies and devices to market. Mission3's advanced suite of enterprise applications, MissionFire and FastCrossing, allow companies to manage bioscience projects, comply with FDA and other regulatory agency requirements, and submit FDA applications in an automated and managed environment.

LSIT will be implementing Mission3's MissionFire Document and Project management software to assist our working groups with the development and management of the GIP guidance chapters. See Item 5 below for more information.

For more information on Mission3, please visit www.mission3.com.

Coley Chavez has been involved with the Security Chapter from the beginning.  He took the helm as Working Group Leader for the Chapter about 5 months ago and really has been an incredible contributor.  With Coley’s insights, due diligence and resourcefulness, he as investigated the best approach and structure to put in place for this chapter.  it will be unique from the other chapters as security basically is dealing with threats at many different levels.  The risk based approach is a given here and Coley has been instrumental in seeking quality throughout this approach.  He has engaged many volunteers and experts who will add tremendous value.

Coley is of great character and a most conscientious and thought-full IT Director and chapter leader.  He does his homework, asks his peers, and goes out in the community to find the truly best practices.  We are grateful and privileged to have his support and commitment.  Thank you Coley.

Leslie Cirillo Plante, Director of IT Compliance for Novartis Pharmaceuticals has agreed to join LSIT's Technology Advisory Board (TAB).

TAB Member Jason Cooper recently joined Accordant Health Services, Inc. as Director of Research and Metrics.

Another TAB Member, Barbara Nollau has joined Global Life Sciences as an Executive Consultant.

On behalf of the entire LSIT team, welcome Leslie, and congratulations to Jason and Barbara.

On Thursday, November 2, LSIT, Global Life Sciences (GLS) and Mission3 will host a training on MissionFire software for LSIT contributors. MissionFire is a web-based, life sciences-focused, project and document management tool that is being implemented by LSIT to assist in the development of GIP chapters. All volunteers/contributors will be provided with a login/password to access the LSIT project online where you can obtain and collaborate on the documents that will ultimately make up the individual GIP chapters.

Please join us from 10:30 a.m. To 1:30 p.m., we’ll provide a brief overview of MissionFire, and provide a short training for all contributors.

Date: Thursday, November 2
Time: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Heller Ehrman, LLP
Address: 4350 La Jolla Village Dr, 7th Floor, San Diego
Lunch and Parking validation will be provided by GLS.

For more information on this training, please contact of GLS.