As pharma's pipeline dries out, companies are increasingly reaching out to university researchers—and not just for out-of-the-box licensing deals. Over the past three years, Washington University in St. Louis has seen the numbers of collaborations rise from 46 to 72, while GlaxoSmithKline and Merck have reported plans to acquire as much as 50% and 25%, respectively, of their early drug candidates from outside collaborations. Academics are seeking creative ways to fund their research as competition for federal dollars heats up. But how do you maximize the promise of these cross-cultural collaborations while avoiding the pitfalls? Here are tips from three scientists who've been there.
Carol Sibley at the University of Washington and Jacobus Pharmaceuticals
In 1993, Carol Sibley, a malaria researcher at the University of Washington, was on the hunt for compounds that might knock out resistant strains of the malaria parasite. Her group had developed a hybrid yeast that ...
