Data is the currency of R&D, and that currency is now generated and traded globally.

Changes in the understanding of biological science, translational research and corporate business models require a corresponding change in the approach to chemical and biological information management. The concept of operations being partitioned into discrete departments for drug discovery is beginning to be replaced by a translational approach to this process. Pharmaceutical business and organizational models are also constantly evolving. Traditional approaches to transactional systems, transferring data up to a departmental data warehouse, are no longer meeting the needs of pharmaceutical scientists and, thus, IT departments are not considered as relevant to the business. These changes and their impact on information systems, as well as some solutions to the challenges faced, are discussed in this editorial.