GlaxoSmithKline Opens Chemical Database to Researchers Hunting Malaria Drugs
Open sourcing has revolutionized everything from software architecture to agriculture to the way we archive knowledge, so why can't it find a cure for malaria? That seems to be the reasoning behind pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline's decision to offer up detailed information on 13,500 chemical compounds from its database in hopes that an "open lab" will find a cure for malaria. Accompanying the intellectual property: $8 million to seed the "open lab" with up to 60 researchers that will pursue malaria treatments. By opening this wing of their scientific database to the research community at large, as well as by partnering with initiatives like the Medicines for Malaria Venture, GSK hopes researchers will zero in on an effective treatment for the mosquito-borne illness that ravages tropical regions of the world. Of course, GSK's committing of its intellectual property to the world at large is not a pharmaceutical first. The Tropical Disease Initiative serves...