10 pharma companies unite to form TransCelerate BioPharma

Ten major biopharmaceutical companies announced Wednesday that they have joined forces to form a nonprofit organization called TransCelerate BioPharma Inc., to accelerate the development of new medicines.

Abbott, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Roche and Sanofi launched TransCelerate BioPharma Inc., with the goal of improving the quality of clinical studies and bringing new medicines to patients faster.

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Each of the 10 founding companies will combine financial and other resources, including personnel, to solve industry-wide challenges in a collaborative environment. Together, member companies have agreed to specific outcome-oriented objectives and established guidelines for sharing meaningful information and expertise to advance collaboration.  

"There is widespread alignment among the heads of R&D at major pharmaceutical companies that there is a critical need to substantially increase the number of innovative new medicines, while eliminating inefficiencies that drive up R&D costs," said newly appointed acting CEO of TransCelerate BioPharma , Garry Neil, MD, partner at Apple Tree Partner, in a press release. "Our mission at TransCelerate BioPharma is to work together across the global research and development community and share research and solutions that will simplify and accelerate the delivery of exciting new medicines for patients."

Members of TransCelerate have identified clinical study execution as the initiative's initial area of focus. Five projects have been selected by the group for funding and development, including: development of a shared user interface for investigator site portals, mutual recognition of study site qualification and training, development of risk-based site monitoring approach and standards, development of clinical data standards and establishment of a comparator drug supply model.

In a statement supporting the new initiative, Janet Woodcock, MD, director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said, "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."
 

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