GSK links with top labs on ‘big data’ drug project

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline is linking with two top bioscience centres on an open-access research project to tap into "big data" generated by gene research, in a move highlighting how drug companies are learning to share. The new public-private Centre for Therapeutic Target Validation (CTTV) is being created by GSK working alongside the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute, both of which are based in Cambridge, England. "I fully expect others to join," Patrick Vallance, GSK's head of pharmaceuticals research and development, told Reuters. As a result, there is a growing trend among pharmaceutical companies to become more open about sharing early-stage – or pre-competitive – research work, rather than keeping their science locked up behind high walls.