PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 342 - 8 Dec 2001

Pharma industry vs academia?Many of the therapeutic advances in recent years have

been due to the drug development efforts of thepharmaceutical industry, as opposed to government-supported clinical research, adding stress to therelationship between industry and academicinstitutions, say Dr Julio Montaner and colleagues fromthe University of British Columbia, Canada.

Until now, the pharmaceutical industry and academicinstitutions have, for the most part, achieved effectivecollaboration despite their different agendas. Thepharmaceutical industry has an annual worldwidebudget of around $US6 billion for drug development.However, governments or government agencies areunlikely to be able to supersede this effort. Researchsponsored by industry is a ‘double-edged sword . . .capable of cutting edge advances’, but, ‘it must bewielded with care’, say Dr Montaner and colleagues. Therelationship between academia and industry is a‘valuable one that should be nurtured and perfected’,they conclude.Montaner JSG, et al. Industry-sponsored clinical research: a double-edged sword.Lancet 358: 1893-1895, 1 Dec 2001 800876819

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 8 Dec 2001 No. 3421173-5503/10/0342-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved