The way different pharmaceutical firms have worked together on research aimed at stemming the tide of the Coronavirus pandemic provides a clear example of how firms in the industry should work together in the future, a new report has argued.
Novartis UK argued that such an approach could “unlock” the potential of the UK life sciences sector, enabling more medical discoveries to be made and greater patient-centric treatments to be developed.
Its New Possible report said prime examples of how collaboration worked effectively was in the area of testing existing drugs to test their potential effects on Covid.
In the reports introduction, Novartis managing director Chinmay Bhatt said: “By looking back at examples of progress we’ve made in responding to COVID-19 so far, we can help realise a Golden Era of successful collaboration.”
Should this optimistic prognosis be fulfilled, the life science sales pipeline could be very busy as the sector leaps ahead in the UK, boosted by the success of discoveries like the usefulness of Dexamethasone in fighting Covid, the development of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine and the diagnostic capacity that has helped identify new variants of the virus.
Listing its own collaborations, Novartis noted that it co-chairs the Covid-19 therapeutics Accelerator programme, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome and Mastercard. It is this body that has helped accelerate progress in testing repurposed drugs for Covid and making progress with a vaccine.
It is not just Novartis predicting a potentially bright future for the UK life sciences sector.
In an editorial, PharmExec suggested 2021 could be a ‘banner year’ for the industry, not least because the trade deal agreed with the EU not only boosts British firms, but enables partners in the EU to tap into areas where the UK excels, such as genomics.
Speaking to the website, Laura Barrell, senior associate in VWV’s pharmaceuticals and life sciences team, said there is “no doubt” Britain leads the way in the sector.
She also identified AI, automation and clinical research platforms as areas where Britain is a world leader.
