The Weizmann Institute of Science and Yeda Research and Development Co., Ltd., its commercial arm, have entered a multi-year arrangement with US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer Inc. The arrangement will entail collaboration at the newly established National Drug Discovery Institute in the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, which is part of the Weizmann Institute and located on its campus.
Pfizer will place a medicinal chemist (rotating annually) at the Weizmann Institute to assist with advancing target selection and high-throughput screening, as well as leading development campaigns for programs that enter the Drug Discovery Institute. If projects of mutual interest -- those that hold promise in addressing unmet medical needs -- are identified, Pfizer and Yeda will evaluate the potential for research and development agreements.
“We are very pleased to collaborate with Pfizer, and to work side-by-side with its scientists in our new national center, to build a world-class discovery and medicinal chemistry organization,” said Dr. Berta Strulovici, head of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine. “We welcome Pfizer’s commitment to scientific discovery, and we are excited to host Pfizer scientists on campus and to broaden the potential impact of our joint efforts and common aim to discover new medicines that may benefit patients around the world.”
“This is an exciting partnership for Pfizer,” said Mikael Dolsten, President of Pfizer Global Research, “We have interacted with the Weizmann Institute for many years and have confidence in their scientific vision and expertise. We anticipate that this arrangement could potentially result in meaningful discoveries in the coming years. We look forward to working with many Israeli scientists and to seeing the outcomes of this effort.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 6, 2016
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