“Apple’s ResearchKit is a new open-source software framework that helps the scientific community gather medical research data from iPhone users,” Stephanie M. Lee reports for BuzzFeed News. “GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world’s largest drug developers, told BuzzFeed News it is “currently working on integrating (ResearchKit) into clinical trials and planning to start in coming months.””
“And Purdue Pharma, the privately held, multibillion-dollar drug developer in Connecticut that’s best known for OxyContin painkillers, told BuzzFeed News that it’s in the early stages of exploring whether Apple’s new tool for research data collection can be used as part of its own drug R&D efforts,” Lee reports. “‘We know that all these changes in tech are going to impact health care, but we don’t know exactly how,’ Larry Pickett Jr., Purdue’s vice president and chief information officer, told BuzzFeed News. ‘People have been talking about it for a long time, but haven’t been able to figure out how to leverage that data and take advantage of it. My team views ResearchKit as a very significant milestone in being able to move that capability ahead.'”
“So is Apple comfortable with pharmaceutical companies using ResearchKit as part of a for-profit endeavor to develop new drugs? Jeff Williams, Apple’s senior vice president of operations, says it is,” Lee reports. “‘We’re open to working with anybody that is going to make an impact on people’s health,’ he told BuzzFeed News in an interview last month.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take:
SEE ALSO:
ResearchKit, Apple’s medical data experiment, explained – May 20, 2015
Apple announces ResearchKit available today to medical researchers – April 14, 2015
Why Apple’s ResearchKit signals a golden age for health care – March 28, 2015
ResearchKit: The inside story of how Apple’s revolutionary medical research platform was born – March 19, 2015
Apple’s open source ResearchKit will change the world for the better – March 9, 2015
Apple debuts ResearchKit, giving medical researchers the tools to revolutionize medical studies – March 9, 2015
“So is Apple comfortable with pharmaceutical companies using ResearchKit as part of a for-profit endeavor to develop new drugs?
Just the fact that that sentence was written goes to show how brainwashed and fucked up the average public has become over so-called “big pharma.”
Agreed. That question disturbed me, too. Paraphrased: “Is Apple comfortable with developing new drugs?”
WTF!?
I’m pretty sure BigPharma earned their reputation. Case in point, the abandonment of antibiotic development by all major pharmaceutical companies. Stated reason: “Successful antibiotics make people well and they stop taking them. We’re going to focus on drugs people have to take daily for the rest of their lives”. The Bitter Pill reporting in Time probably opened too many eyes.
That said, the reporter was asking a really stupid question. Why would Apple be upset by people using the products and capabilities they offer to make money?
Is Ford comfortable enough to let its cars be used as getaway vehicles for bank robberies? Is Smith & Wesson comfortable to let its handguns be used for shooting innocent citizens?
I doubt most companies have any control over how their products are used by purchasers of their products. A lot of things are used in ways never intended by manufacturers.