Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation Teams Up with Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic
Innovation to Support Discovery of Drugs for Alzheimer’s Disease
Cross-Sector Collaboration Aims to Provide Academic Researchers with New Investments and
Access to Pfizer’s Scientific Expertise and Resource Centers
NEW YORK, NY, February 11, 2015 – The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and
Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) announced today a collaboration designed to
advance the development of new small-molecule drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and related
dementias. As part of the first-of-its kind collaboration in Alzheimer’s, the ADDF and CTI will
jointly invest in translational research projects, with a focus on novel Alzheimer’s drug targets.
The cross-sector alliance is designed to enable project teams, comprised of Pfizer scientists and
select academic researchers, to translate novel scientific research into effective therapeutics for
Alzheimer’s disease. The collaboration will allow investigators in Pfizer CTI’s academic network
to apply for joint funding from CTI and the ADDF, with funded projects gaining access to Pfizer
CTI’s unrivaled drug discovery resources and the ADDF’s expertise in Alzheimer’s disease
research. The first deadline for pre-proposal submissions is February 13, 2015.
“By leveraging our combined resources and proficiency, we believe we can speed up the
discovery and development of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and potentially benefit tens of
millions of people,” says Howard Fillit, MD, Founding Executive Director and Chief Science
Officer at the ADDF. “Our funded researchers will benefit from an unprecedented level of drug
discovery guidance as well as access to Pfizer’s development expertise.”
The collaboration, which grew out of a 2011 meeting at Faster Cures “Partnering for Cures”
conference, is representative of the increasing role of cross-sector collaboration in the drug
discovery process.
“Approximately five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease today, and the
prevalence of this disease continues to grow with devastating impact for patients and their
loved ones,” said Anthony J. Coyle, PhD, Senior Vice President at Pfizer and CTI’s Chief Scientific
Officer. “There is an urgent need to explore new avenues for treatment in Alzheimer’s disease.
Speeding drug discovery is the goal of every CTI collaboration, and the ADDF is uniquely
positioned to be a strong partner in our efforts to translate research into therapies for people
suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.”
The ADDF is the latest foundation to join Pfizer CTI’s network of
partners and the only foundation partner working on a disease of the central nervous system.
About the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
Co-founded by Ronald S. and Leonard A. Lauder of the Estée Lauder cosmetics family, the
mission of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) is to accelerate the discovery of
drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer’s diseases, related dementias and cognitive aging.
Since its founding, the ADDF has granted more than $70 million to fund over 450 Alzheimer’s
drug discovery programs in academic centers and biotechnology companies in 18 countries.
www.AlzDiscovery.org
About Pfizer’s Center for Therapeutic Innovation
Launched in 2010, Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) is a unique model for
academic-foundation-industry collaboration, designed to bridge the gap between early
scientific discovery and its translation into new medicines. A key aspect of CTI is its local Centers
in biomedical research hubs that enable Pfizer and academic teams to work side-by-side,
blending the research expertise of academics in disease biology, targets and patient
populations with Pfizer’s development expertise and resources. The ultimate goal of each
collaborative research project is to identify a drug candidate that can be moved into further
clinical testing. CTI now has 25 academic institutions and five foundation partners in its
network, as well as the National Institutes of Health, with a portfolio of projects across a variety
of disease areas.
www.PfizerCTI.com
Media Contacts:
ADDF: Dresden Joswig, DJoswig@AlzDiscovery.org, 212.901.7997
Pfizer CTI: Dean Mastrojohn, Dean.Mastrojohn@Pfizer.com, 212.733.6944
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