UniQuest, The University of Queensland’s commercialisation company, has announced it will partner with Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) on the creation and development of a drug candidate for the treatment of cancer.
Pfizer's CTI connects the company’s drug development expertise with academic medical centres around the world, with the goal of accelerating innovation toward the development of new medical treatments for novel targets.
UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Høj AC said the collaboration with Pfizer was focused on a potential first-in-class cancer therapy that is the result of research at the university.
“We are very pleased to combine UQ’s research expertise in cancer biology and immunology with Pfizer’s world class capability in drug discovery and development,” he said.
“Industry collaborations such as this help to ensure that promising academic research has the best chance of generating potential life-changing treatments for those who need it most.”
UniQuest CEO Dr Dean Moss said the UQ project was the first in Queensland to be funded under Pfizer’s CTI program, and only the second in Australia.
“The alliance provides UQ researchers with the opportunity to closely collaborate with Pfizer’s industry-leading drug discovery and development capabilities with the aim of bringing new treatments to the market,” added Dr Moss.
The University of Melbourne partnered with Pfizer's CTI in 2016.