AstraZeneca taps PatientsLikeMe's network for drug R&D insights

AstraZeneca ($AZN) has signed on to partner with PatientsLikeMe to cull data from its network of some 250,000 patients that will help guide drug development at the pharma giant. AstraZeneca says it plans to use the data reported by patients 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." The deal comes a year after Genentech signed on to fine tune its own research activities. Release