Big pharma partners with government over $100m dementia fund
pharmafile | March 17, 2015 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Alzheimer's, Biogen IDEC, GSK, J&J, JJ, Pfizer, government, jp morgan, lilly
Lilly, Pfizer, GSK, J&J and Biogen Idec are set to join a $100m Dementia Discovery Fund to boost research into new treatments.
The government and the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK are also joining forces with pharma. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce the launch of the fund at the World Health Organization’s first ministerial conference on global action against dementia in Geneva today.
The government says the in principle agreement marks a ‘significant first step’ towards new dementia discoveries. The companies involved will be working together in the coming months to develop the fund further, and there will be another call for investment planned when the fund is launched.
The government has been working with J.P. Morgan to structure the Dementia Discovery Fund as an innovative method for financing dementia research. The ultimate aim is to develop pioneering new drugs to treat the condition.
It comes after the government announced it will invest £300m for UK research and medical innovations in dementia, as part of the ‘Prime minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020’, along with more training for NHS staff to provide training to improve their understanding of the illness.
Alzheimer’s Research UK also plans to invest £30m to launch three drug discovery centres in the UK, to drive research into new drugs to slow down or possibly even stop the progression of dementias. Current treatments only help to control the symptoms.
Experts say these investments from the public and private sector are desperately needed. A recent report by the Dementia Forum of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) said pharma companies are reluctant to invest in new dementia treatments as ‘funding fatigue’ has set in after a ‘history of failures’, and that a ‘massive step change in research funding’ was needed to prompt pharma to drive the development of new treatments.
Jeremy Hunt will say at the conference: “The new fund is a unique collaboration, bringing together the combined expertise of government, financial, industry and charity partners. It marks a global consensus that research needs greater priority and that new sources of finance are needed to translate the best science into effective treatments.”
Dr Matthew Norton, head of policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK said: “Alzheimer’s Research UK are delighted to be part of this unique and innovative initiative, a world first for dementia research. The Discovery Fund will bring much needed new money into dementia research, but importantly also represents a new way of doing things.
“It will ensure some of the best minds in commercial drug discovery focus their efforts on dementia, widening the breadth of focus in the area and increasing our chances of success. It will harness the combined expertise and resources of government, the private sector, and the leading dementia research charity to scour the globe for promising assets that offer the best chance of being turned into effective treatments.”
Lilian Anekwe
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