Pfizer 2014 Annual Report Download - page 44

PFIZER ANNUAL REVIEW 2014 www.pzer.com/annual 44
ANNUAL REVIEW 2014
Our Science > Research and Development
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
ACADEMIA, BIOMEDICAL INDUSTRY AND PATIENT ADVOCACY
Rare Disease Consortium
The Global Medical Excellence Cluster in the UK entered into a
ve-year collaborative agreement with Pzer, under Pzer’s Rare
Disease Consortium, a new collaborative approach in the discovery
and development of potential new treatments for rare diseases.
The Rare Disease Consortium brings together experts in the eld
— academic researchers, clinician practitioners and patient and
advocacy groups — in an effort to accelerate the discovery process
for the benet of patients.
BIOMEDICAL INDUSTRY
23andMe
23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, and Pzer have
combined forces to enroll 10,000 people with inammatory bowel
disease in a research initiative designed to explore the genetic
factors associated with the onset, progression and severity of the
disease, as well as its response to treatments.
GOVERNMENT, BIOMEDICAL INDUSTRY
AND PATIENT ADVOCACY
Accelerating Medicines Partnership
The National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration,
10 biopharmaceutical companies (including Pzer) and a number
of nonprot organizations have announced on February 10, 2014,
the launch of a bold new venture to transform the current model
for developing new diagnostics and treatments of disease by
jointly identifying and validating promising biological targets. These
participants are expected to invest $230 million in expertise and
resources over ve years to increase the number of new diagnostics
and therapies for patients and reduce the time and cost of
developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and
the autoimmune disorders rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus
erythematosus. A critical component of the venture is that the data
generated will be made publicly accessible to the broad
biomedical community.
BIOMEDICAL INDUSTRY
Cellectis
Pzer and Cellectis entered into a global strategic collaboration
to develop Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T)
immunotherapies in the eld of oncology, directed at select targets.
This leading immuno-oncology collaboration aimed at delivering
immunotherapies is built upon Cellectis’ advanced genome
editing and cell engineering capability and Pzer’s cutting-edge
biotherapeutic cancer therapy platform. Combining the innovation
and scientic expertise of Cellectis with Pzer’s deep oncology and
immunology experience creates a world-class partnership designed
to deliver a new generation of CAR-T immunotherapies for cancer
patients with urgent medical needs.
BIOMEDICAL INDUSTRY
MedGenesis
Pzer entered into an agreement with MedGenesis Therapeutix,
Inc. to obtain an exclusive, worldwide option to license its glial cell
line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) protein and convection
enhanced delivery (CED) technology to be used in a potential
disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson’s disease, which Pzer
has identied as an important area of unmet medical need. This
innovative approach to treating Parkinson’s disease involves the
direct intra-parenchymal infusion of GDNF into the brain, using
MedGenesis’ CED technology.
BIOMEDICAL INDUSTRY
Spark Therapeutics
Spark Therapeutics and Pzer will collaborate to progress the
clinical program for SPK-FIX, a program incorporating a bio-
engineered Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vector for the potential
treatment of hemophilia B. The fundamental understanding of
the biology of hereditary rare diseases, coupled with advances
in the technology to harness disarmed viruses as gene delivery
vehicles, provide a ripe opportunity to investigate the next wave of
potential life-changing therapies for patients. Disarmed viruses can
be redesigned with the genetic instructions to produce a missing
enzyme or therapeutic protein. They are then called vectors, and in
practical terms are carriers for therapeutic genes.
ADDITIONAL COLLABORATIONS