Pfizer and King's College collaborate on pain research
Pfizer and King\'s College London have created an open innovation laboratory for pain research.
Pfizer and King's College London have created an open innovation laboratory for pain research.
The drugs company will base a small team of scientists at the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases at the College's Guy's Campus to conduct research in pain biology.
The Pfizer scientists will be part of a larger team at King's College including academics such as Professors Steve McMahon and Stuart Bevan. The team hopes to develop a greater understanding of pain mechanisms and pathways.
The initiative will allow King's College to pursue its commitment to translational research, while Pfizer's scientists will be working in a vibrant, academic research community.
"The basic academic work that we will be doing with Pfizer in the area of pain and receptor trafficking is closely aligned with the research interests of the Wolfson Centre," said Professor Pat Doherty, director of the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases.
"The Pfizer colleagues will have joint academic appointments within King's College London, and will work closely with our established teams in a truly collaborative effort aimed at understanding the fundamental mechanisms underlying chronic and neuropathic pain."
Gillian Burgess, pain research chief scientific officer at Pfizer, said: "This partnership will allow our scientists to work in an academic setting and combine resources with King's scientists to advance knowledge in this important area. We hope that this will lead to greater innovation and in turn bring benefits for patients living with pain."
The Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases brings together more than 25 research groups focused on understanding the molecules and principles that govern the development of the central and peripheral nervous system, to the functioning of neurons at the synaptic level.
