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The
SNP Consortium has been formed by the Wellcome Trust together
with ten major pharmaceutical companies and some of the
world’s leading research laboratories. It received a major
boost when the Whitehead Functional Genomics Consortium
allowed royalty-free access to its technology. This will
help the SNP Consortium in its bid to create a public database
of human genetic markers that could revolutionise the treatment
of a variety of diseases within the next decade.
The
$45 million, two-year initiative is being funded by the
UK’s Wellcome Trust, the world’s largest medical research
charity, to the tune of $14 million, with the remainder
of the backing being provided by the following firms:
- AstraZeneca
- Bayer
- Bristol-Myers
Squibb
- Glaxo
Wellcome
- Hoechst
Marion Roussel
- Hoffman-La
Roche
- Novartis
- Pfizer
- Searle
(Monsanto)
- SmithKline
Beecham
(see
IMS HEALTH’s Pharmaceutical
Company Profiles for further information about these
companies).
The
SNP Consortium is an unusual example of ‘pre-competitive’
collaboration between pharmaceutical companies. It is thought
to have been partly spurred by concerns over smaller genomics
companies (e.g. Genset, Millennium) patenting such information
and thus precluding its use by the pharmaceutical industry.
However,
Novartis’ head of research, Paul Herrling, said membership
of the consortium would not prevent companies from patenting
an individual gene.
Genset,
which is collaborating with Abbott Laboratories, intends
to patent genes and sell them, possibly for up to $100 million
each. The lengthy negotiations surrounding the formation
of the SNP Consortium were kept under wraps until they were
reported in March 1999, when four or five companies were
said to have declined involvement, including Merck &
Co.
Key
objectives...
The
aim of the SNP Programme is to:
- Identify
specific genes involved in common and rare diseases, allowing
the discovery of new therapies and medicines
- Develop
new diagnostic tests
- Create
‘personalised’ medicines from knowledge of tiny genetic
variations that predict an individual’s response to therapy
The
non-profit Consortium will place the gene map it produces
in the public domain via the Internet, ensuring free and
equal access to all. The Consortium said its formation would
lead to the work being done more quickly, with shared financial
risk and less duplication of effort.
In
September 1999, the Consortium entered into an agreement
with Orchid Biocomputer Inc, whereby Orchid will perform
the validation and quality control testing on genetic markers
identified through the Consortium’s research. Orchid will
use its proprietary Genetic Bit Analysis technology to assess
and confirm the authenticity and location of the SNPs.
IMS
HEALTH’s drug database, R&D
focus, contains more information on this kind of genomics
research.
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