Feb 4 (Reuters) - Ten big rival drug companies have formed apact to cooperate on a government-backed effort to acceleratethe discovery of new drugs, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The companies and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)will share scientists, tissue and blood samples, and data, toidentify targets for new drugs for diseases such as Alzheimer's,Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, the Journalsaid.
The collaboration, called the Accelerating MedicinesPartnership, will cost about $230 million and involvesdrugmakers such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Johnson &Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi. ()
The agreement prohibits participants from using anydiscovery for their own drug development until the project makesdata public on that discovery.
The NIH, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers, Sanofi, Takeda, andJohnson & Johnson could not be immediately reached for commentsby Reuters.