Drugmakers are using innovative partnerships to spur development, says Tufts CSDD

Responding to strong and growing pressure to reduce development times and increase the output of new medicines, pharmaceutical companies are engaging in innovative partnerships that are leading to, among other things, more molecular entities entering Phase I trials and shorter study times, according to a panel of leaders from the research-based drug industry recently convened by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

“Drug developers have gotten the message that they need to innovate “better, faster, and cheaper” - without sacrificing patient safety - and partnering is proving to be an effective strategy,” said Tufts CSDD director Kenneth Kaitin, noting: “By aligning with others, drug developers are hoping to accelerate the translation of scientific findings into new medicines.”

The emphasis on speeding drug development is driven, in part, by the pending expiration of a number of patents on more than a dozen blockbuster drugs, putting potentially more than $200 billion in sales at risk over the next several years.