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Pfizer launches regenerative medicine unit

The pharmaceutical giant made it official today. It has launched a regenerative medicine unit co-located in Cambridge, UK and Cambridge, MA. It will have about 70 full-time employees, but the cheery news for stem-cell start-ups is the focus on deal-making. The company’s press release hinted that several scientific collaborations would be announced this week, and Pfizer’s head of bio-innovation reportedly said that this initiative might very well help some young companies stay alive through the financial crisis. (See the Wall Street Journal blog. For a broader view, see In search of a viable business model.)

The first time I heard a Pfizer official talk about this was at a stem cell conference in September (See Companies have company at stem-cell conference). The company line was caution: stem cells would be tools to finding, vetting, and assessing small molecule drugs. Cell therapies were a stretch. Sure, at that point, Pfizer had already invested in a little cell therapy company for eye disease, but those funds comprised the tiniest fraction of a giant R&D budget (See Pfizer dips a toe in stem-cell research). Today, ten days after the election of a stem-cell-friendly US president Pfizer sounds more ambitious. “Scientists at Pfizer Regenerative Medicine will explore the use of stem cells to develop future treatments that may prevent disability, repair failing organs and treat degenerative diseases. The ultimate goal will be to deliver new medicinal products that can pave the way for the use of cells as therapeutics.”

Posted by Monya Baker on November 14, 2008
Categories: Industry | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

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It seems like Pfizer give stem cell start-up companies a favor, but I'd like to notice that a big attention of BigPharma giants to cell-based therapies frequently coming from desperation about situation in the field.
They want to find "something new", viable and real breakthrough in treatment of diseases. Also this new thing should bring a lot of money.
BigPharma & Biotech feel like (and this hope has a rationale) in the future people rather will pay for cell therapies than for pills with chemical compounds.
So it seems like they don't want RegenMed develop to new separate and powerful branch of bio-industry.

Posted by: Alexey | November 14, 2008 10:26 PM

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