Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group active in global markets, has donated $10 million to support research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California.

In addition to funding the highest scientific priorities at the Salk, the Ferring gift will enable the creation of the Françoise Gilot-Salk endowed Chair, which will be used to support research on the role that TAM receptors play in immune regulation. These receptors, which were discovered in Professor Greg Lemke’s Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute, are central inhibitors of the innate immune response to bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.

The Ferring gift will also continue the endowment of the Frederik Paulsen Chair in Neurosciences, named after Ferring’s founder and first established in 2000.

"As a research-driven company, Ferring believes that science will offer solutions to many of the unmet medical needs of people today. Basic research, of the type that has made the Salk Institute world-renowned, is the critical first step," said Michel Pettigrew, president of the executive board and chief operating officer of Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

"We are deeply grateful for the Ferring support. The generosity of our donors ensures that our scientists will have the necessary resources to continue their seminal research," said Rebecca Newman, vice president of development and communications.

Ferring’s support of Salk goes back two decades. Frederik Paulsen Jr., chairman of Ferring Pharmaceuticals has been an active member of the Salk International Council since 1995. Five years later, a grant from the Ferring affiliated Frederik Paulsen Foundation made possible the creation of the Frederik Paulsen Chair in Neurosciences. In 2003, Frederik Paulsen, Jr. was elected to the Salk Board of Trustees.

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world's preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer's, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.