Research & Innovation

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and Pfizer today announce a unique new partnership that aims to promote new biotherapeutic breakthroughs in Ireland, through an academic-industry collaboration.

The SFI-Pfizer Biotherapeutics Innovation Award Programme (BIAP) 2014 is a three year agreement which will be available to qualified academic researchers from Irish universities with novel drug targeting ideas. The partnership will be inviting Universities to submit proposals in March.

The purpose of each collaborative project will be to identify biopharmaceutical candidates directed at novel disease targets or pathways of interest which are suitable to modulation by a biologic or antibody-drug conjugate. Pfizer scientists will work side-by-side with academic teams to blend the research expertise of academics in target biology with Pfizer’s developmental expertise and resources with the goal of validating a drug candidate that can advance into clinical testing. Pfizer is particularly interested in supporting drug candidates directed against novel targets/pathways in the Immunoscience, Inflammation, Tissue Remodelling and Rare Disease indications. Further details of this new funding programme will be available on the SFI website by Friday 14th February.

SFI and Pfizer will hold information events in Galway (17th February), Cork (18th February) and Dublin (19th February) next week, the purpose of which are to provide an overview of the scheme to the research community. Advance registration for these events is not required.