Drug maker Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said Monday that it has formed a joint venture with Belgium-based drug maker UCB S.A. to develop technologies that automate and integrate processes to speed up drug development. The new company, Cyclofluidic, will receive funding from the U.K. government and will be jointly owned by both Pfizer and UCB, with each company having a seat and scientific observer rights on the board. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cyclofluidic intends to develop technologies that automate and integrate processes known as flow chemistry and flow biology, to help pharmaceutical companies shorten timelines within the drug development process. The new company will provide training for both flow chemistry and biology scientists at its facility to be located in the South of England.
The New York-based Pfizer noted that it currently takes between 12-15 years and up to GBP500 million to develop a new medicine. One of the most time-intensive and skilful parts of pharmaceutical research is the screening of potential medicines against therapeutic targets, the company said.
According to Pfizer, Cyclofluidic will develop a microfluidic closed loop lead optimization platform that will enable researchers to access state of the art expertise in flow chemistry, flow screening and microfluidic engineering. This will be addressed through extensive collaboration with key academics and component manufacturers.
Neil Weir, Senior Vice President Research at UBC said, "Cyclofluidic's entry into the rapidly evolving microfluidic technology area has the potential to radically transform the medicinal chemistry and biology interface. It's an exciting opportunity for UCB and Pfizer to collaborate and offers real potential for improved productivity, underlining our commitment to innovation for patients."
Annette Doherty, Vice President and Research Head at Pfizer's European R&D Headquarters said, "We are extremely pleased to collaborate with UCB and the Technology Strategy Board to help improve efficiency in the drug development process. We are excited by the potential of this new partnership to help us identify the most effective medicines for later stages of development and - ultimately - create new and improved therapies for patients."
Pfizer noted that the U.K. government's Technology Strategy Board helped facilitate the arrangement between the two companies and will continue to support Cyclofluidic by co-funding its R&D.
The Technology Strategy board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the U.K. government, to promote and support research into technology and innovation for the benefit of U.K. Business. It is sponsored by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Pfizer noted that the U.K. conducts more pharmaceutical R&D than any other EU country, and investment from pharmaceutical companies is critical to the U.K.'s research base. Around 25% of all industrial R&D comes from the sector.
UCB focuses on two therapeutic areas, namely CNS and Immunology. The company has operations in more than forty countries and reported global revenue of Euro 3.6 billion in 2007. The company currently has twelve large and small molecules in clinical development, spanning fourteen types of diseases that include osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis. UCB's R&D headquarters are located in Slough, the U.K., and covers oncology and immunology products.
In Monday's regular trading session, PFE is currently trading at $17.29, up $0.38 or 2.25% on a volume of 4.77 million shares. The stock has been trading in a range of $14.31-$24.75 in the past 52 weeks.
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