GRS Blog

Pharma giants joining forces to combat tropical diseases

02/2/2012

Again, pharma companies are in the news because they are going to collaborate for the benefit of all and this time, the roll call is even more impressive: Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck KGaA, Merck & Co., Novartis, Pfizer, and Sanofi.  This time they are targeting tropical diseases and combined with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation there is every chance that they will succeed in their goal to eliminate or control the target tropical diseases.

At last there seems to be a realisation that to really make progress in the life sciences, there is a need for collaboration and for research without borders.  In the past, I feel the pharma industry has kept things far too close to themselves and, as a result, a lot of time and money has been wasted.  I can understand the desire, commercially, to maintain confidentiality but we must remember that there are patients, real people, at the end of the pipeline who are desperate to improve their quality of life, alleviate symptoms or be cured.

I very much hope that we will see more and more of these types of collaborations.