Two forces - two consequences
Complementary expertise - mutual benefit
A recent PA Consulting Group intellectual property collaboration has given a pharmaceutical company early access to technology, paving the way for similar initiatives in other industry sectors.
In this issue we look at the way the recent PA Consulting Group/SkyePharma partnership departs from conventional 'fee for service' management consultancy, and the mutual benefits which will result.
Two forces are shaping the treatment strategy for asthma patients, at a time when the number of asthmatics in the western world is rising rapidly.
The first arises from the environmental concerns of the last decade – a move to CFC-free delivery methods. Initially asthma pharmaceutical products were excused from the need to conform to the demands to eliminate CFCs from pressurised packaging, but compliance is required by 2003.
Secondly, there is a move away from a strategy of controlling acute episodes to prophylactic treatment. Asthma attacks can be reduced and, in many cases, prevented if patients take regular, small, controlled doses of appropriate drugs.
These two forces have two consequences – new formulations are required to give the necessary performance with alternative non-CFC propellants, and prophylaxis requires better control over the dose delivered to the patient. The traditional inhaler requires the patient, during an attack, to inhale and simultaneously release a dose of drug so that it can be drawn into the lungs with the inhaled air. The dose delivered in this way can be highly variable, as it depends on a patient's ability to time inhalation and inhaler actuation correctly. For an acute medicine this has been tolerable, as the patient can tell almost immediately if an insufficient dose has been delivered, and can repeat the dose. It is not an acceptable procedure for modern asthma management, nor for the delivery of drugs whose effect is not quickly apparent to the patient.
To meet these new challenges SkyePharma is developing a range of asthma medicines with non-CFC propellants, based initially on two different molecules. It has excellent formulation skills, and an approach that will work for a wide range of drugs. However, it needs an effective and low-cost delivery technology to be developed in parallel with its formulation.
Experience over recent years in the industry has led PA to invent a unique low-cost breath-actuated delivery technology, but a route to commercialise its innovation was required.
A collaboration has therefore been established between SkyePharma and PA, in which SkyePharma will develop the formulation while – in parallel – PA develops the delivery device, based on its proprietary technology. The resulting product will be offered to a major pharmaceutical company as a licensing opportunity. During the development stage the partners share the costs, and will share in the eventual reward. The programme is expected to run for approximately two years until first product launch.
This development programme will allow SkyePharma access to the delivery technology at low cost, and provides PA with a future revenue stream, and opportunities to exploit its intellectual property in areas outside SkyePharma’s interests.
This is an example of a novel approach that PA is taking, investing directly in its own innovation.
Consulting firms have traditionally offered ‘fee-for-service’ as the only option. This approach is not a replacement for ‘fee-for-service’, which will continue to be PA’s primary offering. It is another option to be pursued when the right combination of client need and PA’s own technology base can be found. We are now looking at similar opportunities to put together intellectual property exploitation deals, in this and other industries.
