Pink Sheet is part of Pharma Intelligence UK Limited

This site is operated by Pharma Intelligence UK Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 13787459 whose registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. The Pharma Intelligence group is owned by Caerus Topco S.à r.l. and all copyright resides with the group.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use. For high-quality copies or electronic reprints for distribution to colleagues or customers, please call +44 (0) 20 3377 3183

Printed By

UsernamePublicRestriction

FIDIA-GEORGETOWN INSTITUTE FOR THE NEUROSCIENCES

Executive Summary

FIDIA-GEORGETOWN INSTITUTE FOR THE NEUROSCIENCES will target five research areas, according to an outline of the institute's research program distributed at a Nov. 1 press briefing in Washington, D.C. Institute scientists in the research program will focus their efforts on exploring molecular mechanisms of synaptic signal transduction, chemical modulation of gap junction, neuronal communication defects in anxiety and depression, molecular bases of brain aging, and changes in synaptic transmission triggered by opiate abuse. The institute, headed by former National Institute of Mental Health researcher Erminio Costa, is a joint research venture between the Italian pharmaceutical firm Fidia and Georgetown University. Fidia is providing $3 mil. per year for 20 years to establish the institute, and Georgetown plans to construct a laboratory for the facility on its medical center campus. The institute is divided into six research units -- molecular biology, neurochemistry electrophysiology, neuropharmacology, neurohistochemistry and organic chemistry -- and when fully staffed is expected to employ approximately 50 people. Costa and the institute's principal investigators all hold faculty appointments by the Georgetown University. Under the terms of the joint agreement, which was finalized last July, Fidia will hold the rights to any patents resulting from the institute's research, with the university and drug firm dividing any revenues from licensing. However, Georgetown University Medical Center Vice Chancellor John Rose stressed that the institute is not expected to pursue "commercial objectives." Rose said: "That's not what we're interested in. We are interested in fundamental research." He added that the institute would not conduct "any practical drug development." Rose is a member of the institute's board of directors. Fidia's contribution to the institute represents about 15% of the firm's current research budget, Rose said he hoped that outside funding would eventually "exceed" the amount of support provided by the Italian drug company. "Fidia is providing core support, and we would expect the institute to grow far beyond that," stated Rose. He added that the institute's researchers would be applying for grant support from NIH and the National Science Foundation, "just as other university investigators do." In addition to its research agenda, the institute hopes to sponsor research fellows from France, New Zealand, Israel, England, Ghana, Russia, Poland, Venezuela, and Argentina, as well as from the U.S. and Italy. It also plans to establish a series of Fidia Research Foundation lectures that will be awarded yearly to prominent neuroscientists. Other, similar university-industry joint research agreements include a 1981 grant for more than $65 mil. from Hoechst to Massachusetts General Hospital to establish a molecular biology department, and a $120 mil. endowment by Technicon founder Edwin Whitehead to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to establish a biomedical research institute. Last fall, Serono, a subsidiary of the Ares Group, announced a $1.5 mil. grant for human embryo research to Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk.

You may also be interested in...



Part D Discount Liability Coming Into Focus: CMS Releases Drug Cost Data

Newly released Medicare Part D data sheds light on the sales hit that branded pharmaceutical manufacturers will face when the coverage gap discount program gets under way in 2011

FDA Skin Infections Guidance Spurs Debate On Endpoint Relevance

FDA appears headed for a showdown with clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry over the proposed new clinical trial endpoints for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, the guidance's approach for justifying a non-inferiority margin and proposed changes in the types of patients that should be enrolled in trials

Shire Hopes To Sow Future Deals With $50M Venture Fund

Specialty drug maker Shire has quietly begun scouting deals with a brand-new $50 million venture fund, the latest of several in-house investment arms to launch with their parent company's pipelines, not profits, as the measure of their worth

Latest Headlines
See All
UsernamePublicRestriction

Register

PS009176

Ask The Analyst

Ask the Analyst is free for subscribers.  Submit your question and one of our analysts will be in touch.

Your question has been successfully sent to the email address below and we will get back as soon as possible. my@email.address.

All fields are required.

Please make sure all fields are completed.

Please make sure you have filled out all fields

Please make sure you have filled out all fields

Please enter a valid e-mail address

Please enter a valid Phone Number

Ask your question to our analysts

Cancel