Leading pharma companies unite to accelerate new drug development

Hannah Blake

pharmaphorum

Ten leading biopharmaceutical companies have formed a non-profit organisation to accelerate the development of new medicines. This new organisation, called TransCelerate BioPharma Inc., will be the largest ever initiative of its kind. It will aim to identify and solve common drug development challenges, with the end goals of improving the quality of clinical trials and bringing new medicines to patients, faster.

The ten leading companies involved are from the US and Europe: Abbott, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson &amp, Johnson, Pfizer, Genentech a member of the Roche Group, and Sanofi. These companies will combine both financially, and in other resources, such as personnel.

“We applaud the companies in TransCelerate BioPharma for joining forces to address a series of longstanding challenges in new drug development. This collaborative approach in the pre-competitive arena, utilizing the collective experience and resources of 10 leading drug companies and others to follow, has the promise to lead to new paradigms and cost savings in drug development, all of which would strengthen the industry and its ability to develop innovative and much-needed therapies for patients.”

Janet Woodcock, MD, director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

The idea for TransCelerate BioPharma evolved from relationships fostered in the Hever Group, which is a forum where executive R&amp,D leadership can discuss relevant industry issues and solutions. The founding ten companies all have members on the Board of Directors, but the membership to the non-profit organisation will be open to all pharma and biotech companies who can contribute to and benefit from these shared solutions.

The headquarters of TransCelerate BioPharma will be located in Philadelphia, in the United States.