To encourage the exchange of ideas, Pfizer's Indications Discovery Unit has developed an online portal through which certain Washington University investigators will have unprecedented access to information about Pfizer's proprietary compounds, including extensive clinical and preclinical data.  The compounds have been extensively studied and their mechanisms of action are well-understood.  An advisory committee composed of scientists from both Washington University and Pfizer will evaluate proposals for new research that have been co- University and Pfizer researchers.

To facilitate the collaboration, Pfizer's Indications Discovery Unit is moving its laboratories from Chesterfield, Mo., in suburban St. Louis, to the Center of Research Technology and Entrepreneurial Exchange biosciences district (CORTEX), in the heart of St. Louis' growing biotech corridor, adjacent to Washington University School of Medicine.

The Washington University-Pfizer partnership has its roots in a research agreement the University signed in 1982 with a St. Louis-based predecessor to Pfizer.  The new agreement differs from other relationships in which pharmaceutical companies, even in collaborations with academic scientists, have not disclosed propriety information about drug compounds.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for both partners," says Jeffrey Gordon, MD, director of the University's Center for Genome Sciences, who worked closely with Pfizer on the new agreement.  "It leverages the complementary strengths and interests of both Washington University and Pfizer. By creating this innovative new framework, academic and pharmaceutical researchers can collaborate in ways that are mutually advantageous for the University, Pfizer and society to meet the needs of patients."

SOURCE Pfizer Inc.