The 22nd DIA Japan Annual Meeting 2025

People involved in pharmaceutical development work with a strong desire to deliver new treatment options for others battling illness. However, there are limitations in terms of available human resources, pharmaceutical raw materials, time, and costs, making it impossible to simultaneously advance the development of all drug candidates. While there is no definitive answer to the question of “which candidate should be prioritized for development,” it is necessary to determine development priorities by considering various factors in order to effectively allocate limited resources. Student often have few opportunities to confront such "decision-making without clear answers" and to exchange their own thoughts with others. In this session, participants will engage in group discussions based on a hypothetical case involving three drug candidates for a specific disease. The discussion will be conducted from the perspectives of three key stakeholders that influence or make decisions in pharmaceutical development: "patients," "healthcare professionals," and "pharmaceutical companies." Based on the drug candidate profiles, participants will consider and share their prioritization and reasoning from each of these three viewpoints, exchanging opinions and respecting differing values and perspectives, and aiming for conensus with the group. Finally, through a lecture by a speaker involved in pharmaceutical development, participants will learn how the decisions made in the discussion overlap with actual decision-making processes in the industry. The goal of this session is to help participants experience the complexity and reality of decision-making in pharmaceutical development, and to use this experience as an opportunity to reflect on their future career paths and roles in society.