Pfizer to ally with university on drug research programme

Pfizer is to collaborate with the Washington University School of Medicine on a new research programme to discover new applications for its portfolio of existing compounds.

The company has agreed a five-year deal which will offer the learning facility an unprecedented level of access to more than 500 of its drugs and therapeutic candidates.

It states that this represents a “groundbreaking” new approach to academia-industry collaborations, which will mean that researchers will not have to replicate preclinical studies already conducted by Pfizer.

This means that new uses for a number of Pfizer drugs may be able to be developed years faster than they otherwise would have been.

Don Frail, chief scientific officer of Pfizer’s indications discovery unit, said: “By harnessing the scientific expertise at this leading academic medical centre, the collaboration seeks to discover entirely new uses for these compounds in areas of high patient need.”

Earlier this week, Pfizer agreed a deal with Strides Arcolab which will allow it to expand its portfolio of generic oncology medicines in Europe and other regions.