NIH Funds Public-Private Partnership to Fight Serious Diseases

NIH FUNDS PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP – The National Institutes of Health is funding ten drug companies and seven non-profit organizations to collaborate in research seeking breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease, Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The $230 million five year program requires participates to share data in regular conference calls and meetings to share findings in an effort to more effectively identify promising therapies.

This effort was inspired by, among other things prominent failures on the part of large pharmaceutical firms to develop breakthroughs, particularly in the area of Alzheimer’s.NIH will review the program after 2 years. If the program does not demonstrate insights or therapetic breakthroughs in that time period they may cancel the initiative.