Patient network PatientsLikeMe and global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have announced a five-year partnership focused on research initiatives.
Under the agreement, London-based AstraZeneca will use patient-reported data from PatientsLikeMe to shape future medicine development and help improve outcomes across its main therapeutic areas, with an initial focus on respiratory disease, lupus, diabetes and oncology.
In the past few years, AstraZeneca has cut nearly 3,000 positions and plans to move its headquarters from London to Cambridge in the U.K. in 2016. The company also narrowed its research focus and acquired biotech oncology company Spirogen, according to Reuters.
PatientsLikeMe is a patient-generated data community that allows patients to connect with others with the same medical condition. The company, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., has also partnered with Walgreens to expand access to its data.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.