An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
April 20th, 2009
Another HIV Pharmaceutical Partnership
GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer have created an alliance for HIV drug development.
Since there is only one collaborative effort in the HIV treatment area — the colossally-successful “Atripla” between Gilead and BMS — I had thought this kind of arrangement was fairly rare in the drug biz, but according to this interesting take, apparently not.
Perhaps not surprisingly, GSK is a lot more invested in this effort than Pfizer (85/15% split). Great quote:
The structure looks like GSK has a lot more involved than Pfizer, though, so one of the things to watch will be how much effort Pfizer really puts into the new venture. Lip service is just as common a currency in the drug companies as it is anywhere else, and converts at the same exchange rates.
Regardless, it’s nice to see that there is an HIV drug development pipeline still out there, and hence hope for patients with HIV resistance to all currently available drugs. Good table of the combined GSK/Pfizer investigational agents here.
Paul E. Sax, MD
Contributing Editor
NEJM Journal Watch
Infectious Diseases
Biography | Disclosures | Summaries
Learn more about HIV and ID Observations.
NEJM Journal Watch — Recent Infectious Disease Articles- When it Comes to Antimicrobial Stewardship, Is a Boost Better Than a Nudge?
- HIV Prevention and Treatment: Updated Recommendations from the International AIDS Society–USA
- Observations from ID and Beyond: Dr. Thomas O'Brien — Expert in Antimicrobial Resistance and Giant in His Field (Literally)
- How Serious Is Artemisinin Partial Resistance in African Malaria Parasites?
- Observations from ID and Beyond: Who's Going to Get Lenacapavir for HIV Prevention?