Pfizer Adds Mass. Institutions to Translational Network

(A. Kotok)

Pfizer Inc. in New York is adding eight Massachusetts research institutions to its network of translational research partnerships, called the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation. The company also says it will put the academic network’s headquarters in Boston, a $100 million investment over five years.

Jose Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos, Pfizer’s vice-president for  biotherapeutics research and development, says the network of partnerships between Pfizer and academic medical centers aims to accelerate drug discovery and development. “Our ultimate goal,” says Gutierrez-Ramos, “is to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and the delivery of promising candidates to the pipeline.”

The Massachusetts universities and hospitals joining with Pfizer include the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard University, Partners HealthCare, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, and University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. These organizations follow Pfizer’s current partnerships with academic medical institutions in California and New York.

The company says it will develop space leased in the Center for Life Science Boston, as the headquarters of its Centers for Therapeutic Innovation. The Center for Life Science Boston is located in the Longwood Medical Area, a section of Boston in close proximity to other medical and academic institutions. Pfizer expects to invest some $100 million in the Boston Centers for Therapeutic Innovation over the next five years.

Read more: Pfizer and UCSF Sign R&D Collaboration, More Planned

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