Five neonatology fellows have been awarded grants designed to stimulate interest and research in the area of follow-up care of the premature infant as part of MedImmune's Fellowship Programme. The grants, which underscore MedImmune's commitment to expanding research within paediatric medicine, will provide each recipient's institution a $35,000 grant, totalling $175,000 in research funding. The five recipients were acknowledged on Sunday, October 12, 2008 at a reception coinciding with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2008 National Conference and Exhibition.

MedImmune, a leading biotech with broad expertise in infectious disease research, has awarded funding for respiratory viral disease study during the past five years. The company expanded its program to include grants on premature infant follow-up care to help broaden research in other areas of paediatrics.

"To fully protect premature children from potentially severe paediatric infectious diseases and other health and developmental issues, we must further explore best-practices for appropriate follow-up care," said Frank J Malinoski, senior vice president, medical and scientific affairs. "MedImmune is honoured to support the five fellows with the continuation of this important research to ensure more is being done to address the specialized health needs of premature infants."

The five fellowship recipients were selected by independent reviewers consisting of external paediatric physicians from across the United States. All candidates were required to be full-time fellows in an American Board of Paediatrics-accredited fellowship program and be conducting original research as their primary focus.

MedImmune is a leading innovation-focused biotechnology company whose mission it is to provide better medicines to patients, new medical options for physicians and rewarding careers to employees.