Frank S. David, MD, PhD
Managing Director, Pharmagellan
Professor of the Practice, Department of Biology, Tufts University
Student research opportunities (updated 10/13/25)
My academic interest is in ways to assess and maximize the value of innovative biopharmaceutical R&D. I am particularly interested in the intersection of drug development with policy, regulation, finance, and economics.
As part of that effort, I have several opportunities available for students to contribute to ongoing or pending research projects. This work would be unpaid, but Tufts students may be eligible to receive independent study credit (e.g., via BIO 95 or BIO 195) after a trial period.
If you are interested in working on a project with me, please send the following materials to frank.david@tufts.edu:
Your CV or resume
A one-page cover letter describing your interest in the biopharma industry
An answer to one of the prompts below (pay attention to the word limits)
Tips:
Successful applicants will demonstrate a deep interest in biopharma R&D and strategy, supported by some basic knowledge. If you are relatively new to the area, start here.
In preparation for submitting your application, you are encouraged to review Pharmagellan’s prior research and writing.
Our research projects typically involve a substantial amount of secondary research (analysis of regulatory documents, clinical trial reports, financial filings, etc.) and a devotion to the craft of high-quality writing for non-expert audiences. Preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate ability in and/or affinity for these areas.
Please note in your cover letter if you have specific expertise in computational approaches (programming, data science, AI/LLM tools, etc.) and are interested in exploring ways to deploy those skills to address questions related to biopharmaceutical R&D strategy.
1. How to supercharge drug R&D
Background: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently approves about 50 new drugs per year. What prevents us from getting 500 clinically meaningful new drug approvals per year? What could government and/or philanthropies do to help make this happen?
Prompt (answer all parts):
What is one specific reason why we don’t currently get 500 clinically meaningful new drugs approved per year? (up to 50 words)
What is one specific thing government and/or philanthropies could do to overcome the reason you gave in (1)? (up to 50 words)
What is one specific reason why your idea in (2) might not work? (up to 50 words)
2. Probability of success for clinical trials in various phases of development
Background: A key component of decision-making in drug development is estimating a project’s risk-adjusted net present value (rNPV). The rNPV calculation uses an estimated probability of success (POS) for each phase of development.* A prior study** derived new benchmark POS values for clinical phase transitions in biopharma and compared them to results from prior estimates. From this work, it is evident that the various estimates in the literature don’t agree completely with one another; for example, look at the “phase 2 to phase 3” row in Table 1 in the paper.
Prompt: What is one specific reason why studies to estimate the POS of clinical phase transitions for drug candidates might not agree with one another? (up to 100 words)
3. Impact of drug price legislation on biopharma innovation
Background: The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) imposes mandatory price cuts on certain drugs made available under Medicare.^ Opponents of the IRA argue the legislation will stifle biomedical innovation, in part by reducing investment in so-called “follow-on indications” pursued after the drug’s initial approval.^^ However, there are currently no data to establish a current benchmark of how approvals evolve over a drug’s lifetime that could serve as a baseline with which to compare pre- and post-IRA levels.
Prompt: Why might the IRA dissuade a company with an approved lung cancer drug from pursuing a follow-on approval for the drug in osteosarcoma, a rare bone tumor, even if there were a good scientific rationale to suggest the drug would also work in the latter indication? (up to 100 words)
* https://www.pauljanssenfuturelab.eu/toolbox/rnpv-explained/
** https://academic.oup.com/biostatistics/article/20/2/273/4817524