Teva and IBM expand global partnership to support drug development and chronic disease management

Global pharmaceutical company, Teva, alongside technology leader IBM, have announced an expansion of their global e-health alliance.

The companies will focus on two key healthcare challenges; the discovery of new treatment options and improving chronic disease management. Both projects will utilise the IBM Watson Health Cloud, a cognitive system designed to translate and analyse data to help healthcare organisations understand the many factors that affect health.

The expanded partnership features a new, three-year research collaboration to develop cognitive technologies that can enable a systematic approach to the emerging field of drug repurposing.

The companies also announced that respiratory and central nervous system (CNS) diseases will be the first targets for their chronic disease management initiative. The project will be the first to integrate data from The Weather Company into the analysis.

The joint work in chronic disease management arises from Teva’s existing alliance with IBM as a Foundational Life Sciences Partner for the IMB Watson Health Cloud. The announcement was made during a presentation at the World of Watson conference, delivered by professor Yitzhak Peterburg, Teva’s chairman of the board of directors, alongside IBM chairman, president and CEO Ginni Rometty.

Professor Peterburg said: “Teva’s products reach 200 million people every day with the world's largest medicine cabinet. We have the opportunity to lead change in the pharmaceutical industry, innovating constantly to meet consumers' evolving needs. By combining the skills of our partners, such as Watson's cognitive computing capabilities, with Teva's pharmaceutical expertise, we can create novel solutions and deliver real value to people”.

“Working together, Teva and IBM create an unprecedented opportunity to help doctors and patients worldwide achieve the promise of personalised healthcare,” said Deborah DiSanzo, general manager for IBM Watson Health. “IBM and Teva’s announcements today are notable for two reasons. First, IBM’s work with Teva extends from the biopharmaceutical research bench to an individual’s medicine cabinet -- underscoring the power of Watson cognitive computing across life sciences and healthcare. Second, this work includes the first integration of data from The Weather Company with the Watson Health Cloud, a milestone and demonstrable of how the definition of ‘health data’ is evolving.”

The aim to create a systematic process for drug repurposing will be attempted through a combination of human insight, machine-learning algorithms and real-world evidence accessed through the IBM Watson Health Cloud.

To address the global impact of chronic diseases, the companies will combine Teva’s therapeutic technologies with IBM Watson’s cognitive commuting. Together, the companies aim to enable patients, healthcare providers, and payers to better understand and control chronic conditions, and track treatments.