NIH target validation collaboration 'nearing fruition'

Efforts by NIH to create a precompetitive target validation collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry are "nearing fruition," said Kathy Hudson, NIH deputy director for science, outreach and policy, on Tuesday. The initial focus of the collaboration will be Alzheimer's disease (AD), diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and schizophrenia -- therapeutic areas that Hudson said were selected based on scientific opportunity and the commercial interests of drug companies. NIH will "work with pharmaceutical companies to sift through the tsunami of potential targets," she added. The collaboration will be managed by the Foundation for NIH. The details came in a speech at an Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform conference. ...