Regeneron forms consortium to accelerate gene sequencing project
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced a collaboration with rival drugmakers to collect genetic information on 500,000 people in the UK Biobank database, aiming to accelerate new drug discovery and improve approval rates.
Pfizer Inc, AbbVie Inc, AstraZeneca Plc, Biogen and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc each agreed to put $10M toward the effort in order to complete the exome sequencing by the end of 2019. The exome is the small percentage of the human genome containing all coding genes for proteins, which are targets for many medicines.
The data will be available to health researchers and the public worldwide following a six-to-12-month period of exclusive access by consortium members.
