Pfizer P3 grant call nets 'massive' response

Pfizer Australia has received a "massive" response to its first internal global call for submissions after it successfully won an AUD$10 million pharmaceutical partnerships program (P3) grant earlier this year.

The federal government grant to Pfizer Australia will trigger funding of AUD$36.4 million, to be spent on Australian collaborations from Pfizer over four years.

"The government facilitates a discount for research in Australia for that particular program, which is proving to be very attractive at the moment," said Pfizer Australia research alliance manager Nicola Leaney. "The number of projects [submitted] is significantly over and above the amount of money available."

P3 funding is only available for Australian R&D projects, and because Pfizer Australia does not have discovery and early development scientists for human pharmaceuticals locally, collaborations will be made with international Pfizer scientists and various Australian academics, institutions and companies. "They are collaborations with Australia's top scientists," said Leaney.

The Pfizer scientists will be at several sites across the US, as well as Europe and Japan.

The specific projects that have gained funding in the first round will not be revealed until June 3, but Leaney said they would range from pharmaceutical R&D to the development of biological molecules.

"Pfizer recognises that Australia has some very high-quality science and scientists. However, sometimes it's easier to do research and development in the US because of distance. This program helps people [to] overlook the distance," said Leaney.

The submissions received by Pfizer are being evaluated by the company's research technology leadership team, which will prioritise them according to Pfizer's internal strategic imperatives, said Leaney.

Pfizer is looking for projects that use technology that is several steps ahead, she said. "Because these are discovery and early development, some of them are pre-publication. So it's mainly scientists to scientists, chatting about development of research concepts and ideas. Wherever that happens, the collaboration will happen," said Leaney.

Funding for the first year has been set at $5 million, but funds from the government will not be made available until July 1, and it will be some time before all of the arrangements are in place, said Leaney.