The Wall Street Journal published an article on how the open source development model adopted by Linux influenced the decision by GlaxoSmithKline to publish their data on malaria research. According to the paper, the company published scientifica data about 13,500 chemical compounds being studied for their possible uses against the disease. Glaxo hopes that sharing the data will promote a development process similar to that typical in the Open Source Model, fostering the faster and cheaper creation of a malaria drug.
This is an experimental project, with low risk for the company: A new drug for malaria would not be a significant source of profits, since
the disease affects poor regions almost exclusively. Still, it is likely that the company promotes similar sharing in the future.