US Govt Researchers, 10 Large Pharma Companies Join to Develop New Medications for Major Diseases

In a move to speed up development of new medications for major diseases, US Government researchers will collaborate with 10 large pharmaceutical companies on a $230 million initiative, the US National Institutes of Health announced Tuesday.

The five-year initiative targets Alzheimer's Disease, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, and may be expanded to other ailments, the NIH said.

Type 2 Diabetes - Risk Factors - Symptoms & Signs - Management - Prevention
Globalization and changing lifestyles has made diabetes very common in developing countries so much so that India is known as the Diabetes Capital of the World.

The goal is to pool resources among NIH and the companies, normally vigorous competitors, to enable analysis of large data sets to track disease progression and the effect of therapies.

Data and early-stage research will be shared and made publicly available, and companies are expected to compete on developing commercial drugs once research passes the preliminary phase.

"Currently, we are investing a great deal of money and time in avenues with high failure rates, while patients and their families wait," said NIH Director Francis Collins.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs like the joints, skin, kidney, heart, lungs, blood vessels and brain.

The challenge "is beyond the scope of any one of us and it's time to work together in new ways to increase our collective odds of success," Collins said.

Taking a drug from early discovery through government approval takes over a decade and 95 percent fail the test. That takes the cost of one success to more than $1 billion, NIH said.

Alzheimer’s disease - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Stages, Types, Prevention, Prognosis & Treatment
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting memory and thinking and making the person increasingly dependent on others.

The initiative will be overseen by steering committees led by representatives of NIG and the Food and Drug Administration, the private sector companies and patient advocacy groups.

"Our most critical health challenges require new, innovative ways to develop medicines and vaccines," said Rupert Vessey, a senior vice president at Merck, which is joining the initiative.

Diseases Related to Old Age
Ageing is referred to the accumulation of changes that brings a person closer to death.

"Collaborations such as this, that exchange data, share insights and generate knowledge will be important to unravelling the mysteries of the diseases that cause suffering for individuals and a burden to our society."

The other participating companies are: AbbVie, Biogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Sanofi and Takeda.

Source-AFP