Download Pfizer Partners with NIH to Share Resources to Advance Medical

Thursday, December 4, 2014
8:00 a.m. ET
Pfizer Media Relations
Dean Mastrojohn
[email protected]
(212) 733-6944
Pfizer Partners with NIH to Share Resources to Advance Medical
Innovation and Speed Drug Discovery
NEW YORK, N.Y., December 4 – Pfizer has entered into an agreement
with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct
collaborative research programs focused on translating basic
research into clinical applications. Pfizer’s Centers for
Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) will partner with NIH’s National
Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS;
http://www.ncats.nih.gov) in an effort designed to help bridge the
gap between early scientific discovery and its translation into
new medicines through public-private resource sharing. With this
agreement, the NIH has become the first U.S. government agency to
enter into a collaborative agreement to conduct research through
Pfizer’s CTI network.
“Forging novel collaborations has become the key to unlocking the
scientific potential that exists within industry, academia, and
government,” said Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., President of
Worldwide Research and Development at Pfizer. “In this first-ofits-kind collaboration, Pfizer’s CTI and NIH’s NCATS bring a
tremendous amount of scientific fortitude that we hope will
translate into transformative therapies for patients.”
As part of the agreement, the partners could enter into several
research collaborations that combine NIH intramural investigators’
knowledge of biological mechanisms with Pfizer’s pre-clinical and
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clinical development expertise. In addition to NIH, the CTI
network includes 25 academic institutions and four patient
foundations.
“Pfizer’s goal for the CTI program is to bring medical science to
the patient bedside and to identify potential treatments for unmet
medical needs, which fits perfectly with NCATS’ goal to improve
translational efficiency,” said Christopher P. Austin, M.D., NCATS
Director. “The collaboration with CTI will expand NCATS’
capabilities to serve as a catalyst for the transformation of
translational research and thus potentially bring more treatments
to more patients more efficiently.”
It is expected that all NIH intramural researchers will have the
opportunity to apply for CTI partnership opportunities this fiscal
year (2015). Those selected will have access to Pfizer’s
proprietary pre-clinical drug discovery tools and technologies as
well as pre-clinical study and regulatory expertise. In addition,
selected researchers may be provided with support to generate data
for Investigational New Drug Applications to the Food and Drug
Administration. This could enable potential treatments identified
through the research collaboration to move into human clinical
trials. A joint Pfizer-NIH steering committee will govern the
partnership and be responsible for making important decisions
about each research program.
“Over the past four years, CTI has built a network of
collaborators, convening such critical resources as patients,
clinicians, researchers, foundation representatives, and access to
data to speed the drug discovery process,” said Anthony J. Coyle,
Ph.D., Senior Vice President at Pfizer and CTI’s Chief Scientific
Officer. “By design, our collaborations are meant to empower and
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reward our partners with each project’s success. Adding NIH and
the strengths of its investigators to CTI’s network is the
realization of a long-time vision for CTI, and I am thrilled at
what this partnership could ultimately mean for patients awaiting
new therapies and cures.”
Several thousand genetic diseases affect humans, and most do not
have any approved treatments.
A new drug can take more than 10
years and $1 billion to develop, with a failure rate exceeding 95
percent.
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The Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) is part of Pfizer’s
Worldwide R&D division. It is an entrepreneurial group that
partners with academic medical centers and foundations, and now
the National Institutes of Health, with the goal of translating
promising science into clinical candidates. CTI was founded on a
collaborative model, with shared decision making and aligned
incentives. To learn more, visit www.PfizerCTI.com.
Pfizer Inc.: Working together for a healthier world™
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring
therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their
lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value
in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care
products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines as
well as many of the world's best-known consumer health care
products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and
emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and
cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time.
Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier
innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health
care providers, governments and local communities to support and
expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the
world. For more than 150 years, Pfizer has worked to make a
difference for all who rely on us. To learn more, please visit us
at www.pfizer.com.
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