Transparency/Disclaimer: I was compensated modestly by public relations to write this article. While I have vetted each company, researched it thoroughly and I’ve done my own due diligence, my due diligence is not a substitute for your own.

At present, AstraZeneca (AZN) is actively involved in a collaboration aimed at stopping drug-induced liver injury. The pharmaceutical company is working closely with Liverpool scientists to determine whether drugs are likely to have negative effects on the livers of the patients that use them. This is a problem that arises frequently and it is about time that someone tried to put a stop to it.

In western countries, this is the leading cause of liver failure and often results in the need to transplant the liver altogether. This is also one of the main reasons why drugs are denied in the first place. Any indication that a drug may cause liver injury almost automatically leads to rejection of the drug. If AstraZeneca successfully finds a way to stop these injuries from occurring, the company will be in a very good position indeed and will emerge as a clear leader in the market.

As things stand at the moment, there are ways of detecting drug induced liver injury, but these methods tend to only predict mild forms of the problem. Major, long-term liver injury is harder to predict and often the effects are only realized after the drug has been on the market for a while and affected a number of different people.To continue reading, click here.