'Grill the experts' was the session title, and Jan Lundberg sat in with other research executives from Lilly, Merck and Exelixis. The audience was invited to ask burning questions around Big Pharma's approach to research, in particular externalisation. Panel moderator Roger Longman of Windhover made an overview of various externalisation tactics. It may involve acquisitions, product in-licensing or even out-licensing of end-of-life products for further exploitation, or splitting rights to a compound to different companies that will work with them for different indications. Some companies run independent external research groups that compete with internal research programs. Another approach that is taken by AstraZeneca is exemplified by our alliance with Cambridge Antibody Technology where the keyword is "jointness", meaning that the understanding is to work as equals, bringing the best from both organisations. In a discussion around defining novelty, Roger Longman raised Crestor®, in-licensed by AstraZeneca, as a successful example. He pointed out that Crestor was a late entry statin on the market and that this initially might not be considered as novel. He then enthusiastically referred to the recent clinical data that Crestor actually causes plaque regression in patients' blood vessels. "Clearly", said Jan Lundberg, "we have known for some time that Crestor is the most powerful statin available, and this is an excellent demonstration that the first product in a class is not always the best. In Crestor we have a compound the effects of which show unique characteristics and patient benefits that are not matched by other statins". The panel members cited differentiation as an example of the incremental benefits which is difficult to predict with follow-on products. "Something you know well is obviously closer to your heart", Jan Lundberg remarked regarding a related question on how to make fair comparisons of external projects versus internal. However, he noted, "we need to take objective decisions and are determined to make a direct comparison with our internal portfolio and then go for the best". Responding to a question on what externalisation means to the size of the research organisations in big pharmaceutical companies, he said: "We have been improving and expanding the Discovery portion for AstraZeneca since 1999 - for us externalisation is about gaining further access to the global pool of ideas and talent. I can't see a pharmaceutical company without a strong internal research program. However, we want to evaluate the quality of external opportunities and to be a credible partner bringing our own capabilities to the table". More about AstraZeneca at BIO 2006 Published 10 May 2006 |