The key to success

The key to future success in the pharmaceutical field might not be competition, but rather collaboration; a meeting of academic and industry minds focussed on one area to improve treatments.

We already know that collaboration works; many researchers and PhD students investigating drugs and improved treatments are funded by pharmaceutical companies. And we know that cooperation between charities and academia work. The Wellcome Trust, for example, funds hundreds of researchers in the fields of biomedical science and medical humanities each year, and Cancer Research UK offers financial support to scientists investigating causes and treatments for the disease.

But what about a room full of scientists – employed by competing pharmaceutical companies, research institutes and universities – working together for a common cause? Well that was the plan at the Cambridge Roundtable on Cognitive Drug Development at Clare College in May. The think tank – the first of its kind – saw more than 50 scientists from Europe and the USA gather to discuss effective new treatments for cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“For the first time ever, this think tank is bringing together the most influential thought leaders from academia and industry with the aim of exploring and influencing the way in which treatments for cognitive disorders will be developed in the future,” said Dr Andrew Blackwell, chief scientific officer of Cambridge Cognition and honorary visit researcher at the school of clinical medicine at the University of Cambridge.

The groundbreaking scientific meeting aimed to provide a non-competitive environment for academic and industry scientists to debate and find solutions to common problems facing those working in cognitive impairment. It was organised by Cambridge Cognition a spin-out company who develop and market a range of computerised cognitive testing products used in the diagnosis and assessment of mental health diseases.

Professor Barbara Sahakian, professor of clinical neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge said she was “very excited to be attending the world first collaboration between competing pharma companies and academics,” adding the she believes they have come together because of the huge cost and societal problem of brain disorders.

New treatment is needed because these cognitive impairments are stopping patients from leading a normal life and, in some cases like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia; patients are unable to look after themselves. As life expectancy continues to increase, these particular problems only look set to get worse.

“There are many conditions in desperate need of  cognition enhancing medicines but only a handful of available treatments, and these are of limited use,” said Dr Blackwell, "In conditions like ADHD and Alzheimer’s there is a marked impairment in ability to remember and concentrate so there is a clear need for new cognition enhancing drugs.” He added that there are hundreds of medical conditions, like Parkinson’s, MS, depression, which are not classically cognitive disorders but there are deficits in cognition which could be treated by new drugs.

“Encouraging an open interface between academia and those developing treatments for cognitive disorders will be to the benefit of those affected by these conditions in the UK and around the world,” Dr Blackwell concluded. And that’s the important point – a benefit for the UK and those around the world – not the pharmaceutical companies. Of course we all know they set out to make money, but when a problem such as this urgently needs addressing, it’s good to know that academia industry can come together – without being competitive – to provide a solution. Let’s hope the event paves the way for more of the same in other areas.