Scripps Research and Pfizer Enter Five-Year, $100 Million Collaboration

The Scripps Research Institute has announced it has entered into a five-year research collaboration with Pfizer Global Research and Development to advance scientific knowledge of diseases and novel ways to treat them, making full use of emerging technologies and resident talent from both organizations.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will pay Scripps Research $100 million over a five-year period, during which time scientists from Pfizer and Scripps Research will work together to identify and perform specific projects of mutual interest.

The scientists will jointly study and evaluate therapeutic approaches for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and mental illnesses. They will also develop new tests to rapidly validate these new therapies for potential development as possible novel treatment options that can gain regulatory approval for use in patients.

Pfizer will pay Scripps Research milestones and royalties on therapeutic compounds created through the collaboration. In addition, Pfizer will have the first right to license many discoveries made at Scripps Research during the agreement.

"This collaborative process—basic biomedical research from which will grow new drugs—will advance both scientific knowledge and human health," said Scripps Research Institute President Richard A. Lerner, M.D. "It may also speed up the timeframe for translating breakthrough discoveries in the lab into treatments for currently disabling, even fatal diseases."

John LaMattina, president, Pfizer Global Research and Development, said, "Biomedical researchers share the common goal of curing diseases, whether they're conducting basic or fundamental science to understand how systems work, or applying scientific knowledge toward the invention of a potential new drug that effectively and safely confronts diseases in patients. The Scripps Research Institute's focus on targeted scientific platforms, specifically areas of human disease biology, and therapeutic areas, complements and adds new depth to Pfizer's current research programs for many critical diseases. Leveraging the strengths of the hybrid Scripps/Pfizer research teams brings new power to their ability to study and solve important problems relevant to uncured diseases."

The Scripps/Pfizer research teams will build a substantial collaborative portfolio of targeted disease biology projects and biotherapeutic drug discovery efforts, drawing from resources at both organizations.

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"This collaborative process—basic biomedical research from which will grow new drugs—will advance both scientific knowledge and human health."

—Richard A. Lerner, M.D.