News Cancer research goes open

[CardJoe]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/06...ch-goes-open/1

Medical giant GlaxoSmithKline has donated a huge quantity of data to the National Cancer Institute, in the hope that researchers around the world can make use of it.

[konsta]

Of course it is intended to benefit the company. But that is really the whole point of companies. I'm happy so long as we get access to cures faster.

People love to criticise drugs companies, but the simple fact is, that the western world has so far entirely failed to find a viable alternative, and you cannot sit there and moan about their profits if you have no better suggestion. In a capitalist world, we generally believe that profits are good.

[Darkedge]

cynical and while I agree with you Konsta I'd go further and say that in the capitalist world, we generally believe that profits are <b>god</b>.

[Icy EyeG]

As a researcher, I believe that one of the main reasons that cancer research (and other fields as well) as developed so much over the last years is that it is very easy to share information among researchers. So these initiatives that allow free share of scientific information are essential and the example should be followed.
IMAO, all scientific research (at least in these fields) should be free and drug companies should focus on cost effective production mechanisms and distribution of the final product.

[liratheal]

I'm all for open medical research. I don't understand a single damned thing of it, but hey. Someone does - and I'm sure they'll be happy to see this.

[Krikkit]

As long as the GSK cancer-cure comes in at <£1000, I don't mind what preferential treatment they get.

[Paradigm Shifter]

If the research is 'open source', then the company that will win on whatever comes out of it is the company that can sell it the cheapest. And with the R&D being 'open source'... one of the biggest reasons for an given drug being extremely expensive is lessened. Production rarely costs all that much - it's getting the drugs through all the trials that costs the money.

[Zeus-Nolan]

This is just to keep green peace away tbh, my uncle works for gsk and it was a suprise to him

[bahgger]

Because your uncle knows every single operation that takes place at GSK since it's such a tiny company and blatantly he's THE man in charge

[Zeus-Nolan]

Well I didn't mean it like that, but he does know alot that does happen within the company (not near as much as the chairman or the C.E.). Like with trying to keep green peace happy so they don't do more demonstations (small ones at that).
Anyway I think it's great that this is happening as this might get others doing this, like some of the largest pharmaceutical companies and medical companies if they haven't already done so.