Two Drug Giants Joining Forces in Fight Against HIV; New, More Effective Treatments May Result

Two of the world’s largest drug companies have announced they are joining forces to market medicines to fight HIV, raising hopes that key breakthroughs in the fight against HIV and AIDS will result.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Pfizer Inc. are launching a joint venture in which Glaxo will hold an 85-percent share with Pfizer maintaining a 15-percent stake. The still-unnamed new company formed by two leaders in the development of AIDS drugs will combine existing drugs already in the companies’ control as well as research and development of future drugs they will tackle together.

The new company will immediately have 11 HIV-fighting products, including two of Glaxo’s biggest drugs, Combivir and Epzicom, as well as other drugs that are still in various stages of development and may be approved in the coming months and years.

News of the drug companies’ combine is a boost to efforts toward increasing the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus, the incurable disease that causes AIDS and affects millions of people worldwide.

Strength in Numbers

Pharmaceutical industry analysis say Glaxo and Pfizer can accomplish more together than they can separately when it comes to researching, developing, and manufacturing new HIV drugs. More and more often, big drug companies are forming alliances as the costs and risks of developing new products continue to rise.

Glaxo and Pfizer face increasing competition in the field of HIV treatments as some of their latest drugs are failing to meet sales expectations. The new company will focus on developing new, fixed-dose combination therapies, using existing and novel medicines.

The use of drug cocktails has been shown to slow the spread of HIV and reduce damage to the immune system. About 33 million people around the world, mostly in Africa and other developing countries, have AIDS.

Drug Company Dream Teams: The Future of Big Pharma?

With Glaxo and Pfizer joining the ranks of pharmaceutical companies joining forces to develop new products, it seems like the future of the industry lies in such high-powered corporate alliances. In an increasingly competitive and costly environment, drug companies must reinvent the way they do business. By combining their resources, products, and knowledge, big drug companies are in a far better position to get new medicines over the development and regulatory hurdles and into the hands of patients who need them.

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