Pfizer to discover, develop drugs with UC San Diego Health Sciences

NEW YORK — Pfizer will invest up to $50 million over the next five years in drug discovery and development under a collaboration with the University of California San Diego Health Sciences, the drug maker said.



Pfizer said it would partner with the university through the company's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation — a network of partnerships with life science research institutions in California, Massachusetts and New York — to support programs and potential milestone payments to UC San Diego Health Sciences for successful projects. The partnership includes lab space at Pfizer's La Jolla, Calif., research and development campus that will allow scientists from the company and the university to work together.



"The collaborative partnerships formed through the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation between Pfizer and academic medical centers allow leading medical and clinical experts to join with Pfizer's highly skilled scientists and advanced drug development capabilities to speed the translation of innovative science into medicines for patients," Pfizer SVP and head of biotherapeutics research and development Jose Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos said.