经济学人44:药品研究 大家齐心协力

 　　Business

　　商业

　　Drug research

　　药品研究

　　All together now

　　大家齐心协力

　　Charities help Big Pharma

　　慈善机构协助大型制药公司

　　IT WAS once only drug firms that developed drugs. But this is changing. Take the case of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, a Parkinson's disease charity. On April 19th it announced that it would pay for a clinical trial of a drug developed by Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical¹ giant, that might treat the mental symptoms of the disease.

　　过去只有制药公司才开发药品，但这种情况正在改变。就拿Michael J. Fox基金会，一个帕金森病的慈善机构来说。此机构在4月19号宣布他们将为赛诺菲（Sanofi），法国的制药巨头，所研发的一种药物的临床试验买单，此药有可能用于治疗帕金森病的精神症状。

　　The deal is the latest sign of a broader shift—one that is driven by desperation. Patents on blockbuster drugs are expiring. Research and development (R&D) have grown less productive, with billions of dollars yielding only a trickle² of drugs.

　　这笔交易是产业萎靡所触发的转变的最新迹象。重磅药品的专利已开始失效。药品研发部门已不再那么多产，数十亿美金的投入只换来少许药品的诞生。

　　Some blame stringent³ regulators. Others grumble⁴ that big pharma firms are too bureaucratic⁵. All agree that developing a new drug takes money (well over $1 billion) and time (over ten years in America). Whatever the cause, a shortfall in R&D has inspired a flood of new partnerships⁶.

　　有些人将此归咎于严苛的监管部门，另一些人则认为大型制药公司太过官僚化。一个公认的事实是药物的开发是需要大量金钱（远超过十亿美元）和时间（在美国超过十年）的。无论原因如何，研发部门的低产给众多新合作关系的诞生以灵感。

　　Charities have been particularly bold. Companies, beholden to shareholders⁷, are loth to do things that might lose them money. Charities, by contrast, exist to give the stuff away. The leading "venture philanthropist" is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It has supported early research and clinical trials, small biotech firms and the biggest of Big Pharma companies, Pfizer. The foundation spent $75m on early research for Kalydeco, which in January became the first approved drug to target the mutated gene⁸ that causes cystic fibrosis. Kalydeco is owned by Vertex, a firm based in Massachusetts, but the foundation will get royalties⁹ from the drug's sales, which will then support further research. Other charities have followed the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's lead. The Fox Foundation, for example, has spent $289m on research.

　　慈善机构的参与尤其令人关注。受惠于股东的公司们的不作为可能会断送他们的资金来源。慈善机构，却相反，生来就是乐于施舍。囊肿性纤维化（Cystic Fibrosis）慈善基金是风险慈善的领头羊。此基金已对药物的早期研究，临床试验，小型生物科技公司和最大的生物制药公司辉瑞（Pfizer）给予资助。并且，投资7千5百万美金进行Kalydeco的早期研究，Kalydeco在一月份成为第一个针对导致囊性纤维变性的突变基因的药物，它是位于马萨诸塞州的Vertex公司的产品，此公司会从药品的销售额中给投资的慈善基金一定的分成，这又将会被投资于药品的进一步研究。其他的慈善基金也纷纷效仿Cystic Fibrosis。就如Fox慈善基金已在药物研究上投资了2.89亿美金。

　　Governments have also waded¹⁰ further into R&D. In 2007 the European Commission announced a ten-year,

1 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

2 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

3 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

4 grumble   

vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another grumble from you.我不愿再听到你的抱怨。
• He could do nothing but grumble over the situation.他除了埋怨局势之外别无他法。

5 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

6 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

7 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

8 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

9 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

10 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。