Associated Press
Groups Connect Researchers, Drug Cos.
By DAVE COLLINS 05.11.07, 11:06 AM ET

A major effort is under way in medical research circles to shave years off the time it takes for discoveries by scientists to be converted into treatments for patients.

A small number of nonprofit organizations have stepped in as middlemen to bridge what they say is a widening gap between researchers and drug manufacturers, and their efforts have attracted interest from dozens of other advocacy groups.

Scott Johnson, founder and president of the Myelin Repair Foundation, told about 250 members of Connecticut's medical community Thursday that his organization is bringing once-guarded academic researchers together and is in talks with pharmaceutical companies to create a fast track for a potential treatment for Multiple Sclerosis.

Johnson said more than 50 organizations trying to find cures for other diseases have contacted his foundation to ask about its strategy, which he hopes will have a huge effect on how quickly medical breakthroughs reach consumers. The inquiring groups include the American Cancer Society, the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

"We believe this model will have an impact on not millions of lives, but billions of lives," Johnson said at the annual meeting of the West Hartford-based Patrick and Catherine Donaghue Medical Research Foundation.

The biggest time savings comes from getting leading researchers to work together.

The Myelin Repair Foundation is funding research to identify targets in the body for potential MS drugs and expects to have the first target ready for further development and clinical trails by next year, a year earlier than expected and about 12 years earlier than what could have been done under the traditional research process.

Top researchers usually work only with their subordinates within their own facilities to discover medical breakthroughs, gaining prestige and tenure by publishing their findings in medical journals. Few share their ideas with others before they are published, making progress slow.

Johnson's foundation sought out the nation's most prominent experts in its bid to find a way to restore the body's myelin, a protective coating around nerve fibers that causes MS symptoms when it gets inflamed and breaks down.

Johnson, 51, who was diagnosed with MS 31 years ago, and his colleagues managed to get five researchers to agree to work together and linked them with a new computer system.

Another problem with the traditional discovery-to-treatment route is there are no formal ties between academic science and the pharmaceutical industry, the foundation says. And the pharmaceutical industry is doing little research, focusing mostly on development of new drugs, Johnson said.

Researchers have few incentives to patent and commercialize their discoveries. The lack of patent protection poses big financial risks for pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs.

The Myelin Repair Foundation, based in Saratoga, Calif., added the protection of intellectual property to its business plan. It has filed for eight patents for its discoveries and may seek six others for research tools that have been developed. The foundation has also started discussions with several drug manufacturers about the research it is funding. The foundation has raised $16 million of its $25 million, five-year goal.

There is also limited funding from the federal government for the work that has to be done between a discovery and the time a drug company takes over development. That work includes validation of the results and pre-clinical trials.

John Puziss, director of technology licensing at Yale University, said the Ivy League School has been trying to close the gap between researchers and drug makers for the past three or four years.

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, based in Norwalk, has also brought researchers together in a consortium to help find treatments. The collaboration includes experts from the Mayo Clinic, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other organizations.

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