GlaxoSmithKline uses virtual drug discovery

GlaxoSmithKline has completed a project with InforSense enabling virtual drug discovery through virtual outsourcing of data, it has been reported.

The project, sponsored by the European Commission-funded programme Simdat, used secure Grid technology to demonstrate virtual data outsourcing, InforSense said.

Simdat allowed GlaxoSmithKline to test the components necessary for the support of virtual outsourcing of data analysis in a secure environment, the company’s head of Biology Domain Architecture Rob Gill said in a statement.

He added: “Pharmaceutical companies are moving away from the fortress mentality, which has been prevalent for many years, towards an ecosystem of companies working together without geographical or technical boundaries.”

InforSense’s director of research Moustafa Ghanem added companies like GlaxoSmithKline are considering outsourcing different parts of their business.

Also this week, GlaxoSmithKline announced its acquisition of the Egyptian mature product business of Bristol Myers Squibb. The deal is worth $210 million (125 million pounds), the buyer said.