Denmark's Lundbeck is cutting 50 people out of its research ops in the U.S. and Europe as it shifts its development strategy, and dollars, toward new partnerships. In a release put out this morning the developer says that it still plans to pursue pipeline programs for brain diseases, but will have its R&D focused "increasingly based on the relationships between the biology of a disease and its symptoms."
To put it another way, Lundbeck research chief Peter Hongaard Andersen tells Reuters, the company wants to develop new therapies that treat the disease, rather than its symptoms. And it expects to get more of its experimental candidates from academic and industry partners.
"A lot of new knowledge in this field of disease biology is being developed right now, at universities and biotech companies, and we need access to it," said Andersen. "Up until now, the starting point for our work was more existing mechanisms ... so we were less dependent on new research than we will be with the new strategy."
- here's the Lundbeck release
- see the story from Reuters