The seven pharmaceutical companies involved in the consortium believe working together will drive down the costs of clinical trials and make them more effective.
By Stephen Feller Feb. 23, 2016
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| Research into brain diseases can be costly and includes many dead-ends, but seven companies are banding together on investment and research in an effort to bring the first new drugs for Parkinson's disease in more than a decade to the market, the organization Parkinson's UK announced. Photo by Mrs_ya/Shutterstock |
LONDON
Seven major pharmaceutical companies in Britain are joining forces, and
funding, in an attempt to drive down the costs of clinical trials for
Parkinson's disease treatments, and increase the efficacy of drugs they
investigate.
The
AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Biogen, Eli Lilly and
Company, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Pfizer, and UCB announced they will be working
with Parkinson's UK and the Critical Path Institute to improve research and
care for Parkinson's patients.The increasing cost of bringing drugs from
research to market has bogged down the process, which is why the two groups
have worked to motivate companies to come together.
"There is a strong
realization from the industry that collaboration among industry, academia, and
worldwide regulatory agencies, along with the sharing of data, has the
potential to create a more efficient development process," Dr. Diane
Stephenson, executive director for the consortium, said in a press release."This recognition is evidenced by the fast pace at which members of this
new consortium have joined."
The consortium took shape in
October 2015 with the intention of linking researchers, drug companies and
regulators to speed up the process and find ways to increase the number of
participants in trials. About 70 percent of patients are willing to participate
in drug trials, but only 24 percent have done so according to Parkinson's UK.
The effort will be based at the
Critical Path Institute in Arizona, with more than $1 million expected to be
spent during the next three years, the consortium says in mission statement."Investing in clinical trials
for brain disorders currently carries a high cost and high risk of
failure,"
Dr. Arthur Roach, director of research at Parkinson's UK, said.
"We see the consortium as a crucial part of strategies to develop new
treatments that work at the earliest stage of the condition, with the goal of
slowing its progression, and eventually finding a cure."
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2016/02/23/Consortium-of-drug-companies-to-speed-up-Parkinsons-research/3511456241523/?spt=sec&or=hn
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