Everyone knows that businesses compete. If two businesses are in the same market, they have to compete, right? If you choose to buy a Ford, then that means you didn’t buy a Chevy, a GMC, or a Toyota. Lowes and Home Depot seem to always be next to each other to make the do-it-yourselfers choose which store to use. McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. They’re each other’s competition. They have to compete, don’t they?

Well, in at least one field, pharmaceuticals, companies in the same market sometimes end up cooperating. These companies will have many different reasons to team up. Maybe they are working together to share equipment and resources during the development stage. Maybe it is to save money in manufacturing.

Or maybe it is because both agencies were working on the same kind of drug for a rare disease, like orotic aciduria type 1, and they can get to market faster if they work together. Pharma companies could be showing other businesses how to act.

The process of getting drugs for diseases such as orotic aciduria to market is long and complicated. From inception of the idea to FDA approval, the average time to get a drug to market is more than ten years. More than ten years. That is not to say that the FDA is lazy, far from it. Between 2007 and 2015, FDA approvals were trending up. However, they can only approve drugs that meet certain requirements and have evidence to support their viability in the market.

Pharmaceutical companies are starting to team up for a variety of reasons to get products through the approval process more quickly. The Chemical & Engineering News website has a story from last year that details three case studies of how these partnerships are benefiting everyone—the companies, the FDA, and the public.

Settle in for a detailed read by clicking here.

What are your thoughts about pharma cooperation for rare diseases? Share your thoughts, and your hopes, with the Patient Worthy community!