Open Source Drug Discovery
A collaboration that challenges big pharma in India
In New Delhi, Open Source Drug Discovery takes the shamefully inefficient and expensive hit rate quoted by the big pharmaceutical companies – and turns it on its head. Typically chemical and biological drugs have an average success rate of 5000:1, expense of $2.6 billion per drug and take 10-15 years to develop, but Prof. Samir K Brahmachari is optimising research and developments costs, without raising drug prices. Launched on the three cardinal principals of ‘Collaborate, Discover & Share’, the scientist aims to provide affordable healthcare to the developing world by providing a global platform for drug discovery­ – bringing scientists, researchers, doctors, students and hospitals to work for a common cause. With over 7,900 participants from over 130 countries, the first target is tuberculosis (TB) as it’s one of the leading causes of death in developing nations, killing three Indians every two minutes. This will be followed by Malaria.