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Shanghai Initiative Supports Fundamental Research
Fundamental research in China got a boost from a new joint initiative between Pfizer and the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS). Research projects will be selected and developed jointly by Pfizer and SIBS scientists, with significant funding from Pfizer. This is the latest in a series of Pfizer initiatives aimed at supporting China as it becomes one of the leading contributors to health care innovation worldwide. Innovation in the early stages of drug development, including exploration into basic bioscience principles, has the potential to alter the way we look at health care over the next 20 years. At Pfizer, we intend to lead health care innovation at every stage.
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Realizing the Promise of Green Chemistry
Our Green Chemistry program seeks to integrate environmental, health and safety considerations throughout the research, discovery, development, manufacture and distribution of our products. Green Chemistry is now integral to the way all Pfizer scientists and engineers perform their work. It is about advancing scientific innovation—the heart and strength of our company—to reduce our environmental footprint.
A case in point is Lipitor. New, FDA-approved manufacturing processes for this widely prescribed medicine use nature's own chemical catalysts (enzymes) at key steps. This allows much of the chemistry to be run in water rather than in solvents. These innovations have dramatically reduced the number of processing steps, avoided the use of chemical solvents and hazardous reagents, minimized waste, cut energy requirements and reduced certain production costs. It's a compelling example of why Green Chemistry is the right thing to do.
For more information visit www.pfizer.com/ehs -
Globalization of Clinical Trials
Pfizer is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in all of its clinical trials around the world. Pfizer's research is conducted according to international standards, and we were the first pharmaceutical company to be accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs in 2009 for ensuring the protection of people who volunteer to participate in early-stage trials. As our trials in global markets increase, Pfizer has taken a leadership role in building the capabilities of local investigators in good clinical practices, in partnership with local academic and professional institutions. Pfizer is also a leader in clinical trial transparency. We publicly post summary results of all our clinical trials, including those where further development has been discontinued. In addition, Pfizer has become the first company to begin disclosing payments made to principal investigators and their institutions for Pfizer-sponsored studies run in the U.S.
For more information visit www.pfizer.com/sciencepolicy
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Partnering to Drive Research
The list of research partnerships forged in 2009 is long and spans the globe, involving leaders in applied health sciences from academia, biotherapeutics companies, public-private partnerships, global health organizations and government. Many are featured in this review. Additional highlights include:
- A collaboration with Crown Biosciences at its facilities in Taicang, China, to discover and develop novel therapeutics for cancer;
- Graceway Pharmaceuticals' acquisition of the worldwide commercial rights for three investigational dermatological molecules from Pfizer, while retaining our services to shepherd the projects through development;
- A first-of-its-kind collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to validate an EPA-designed set of tools and technologies that could better predict toxicology outcomes in drug discovery and development; and
- A partnership with China's Fudan University to establish a graduate program in Clinical Data Management and Statistical Programming, designed to develop qualified professionals to support clinical research, which is rapidly increasing in China.
In Expanding the Science