Pfizer Inc. entered the collaboration with the Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases of the WHO (WHO/TDR). The collaboration is part of a new effort to link the research resources of a major pharmaceutical company to a global network of discovery research, and speed the search for new drugs to combat some of the world's most deadly parasitic diseases, including malaria, leishmaniasis, African trypanosomiasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis and Chagas' disease.

The collaboration will give access to its library of medicinal compounds - the world's largest -- and also brings scientists from developing countries into Pfizer's laboratories for training in drug discovery techniques, a Pfizer release stated.

Under the arrangement, scientists in institutes affiliated with the WHO/TDR-sponsored Compound Evaluation Network are testing thousands of compounds from the Pfizer library. In a process called "screening," the researchers are seeking to identify "hits" -- compounds that show initial activity against a range of tropical parasites.

As part of the collaboration, developing country researchers supported by a second WHO/TDR network -- the Medicinal Chemistry Network -- are working with scientists at Pfizer's laboratories in Sandwich, UK, to further evaluate the "hits" and from those select "lead" compounds -- those with the greatest potential to be developed into new medicines for parasitic disease treatment and prevention. They are also being trained by Pfizer scientists in the latest drug discovery research methods and use of state-of-the-art tools. Following this training, they will return to their home countries to deploy their new knowledge and skills.

"This agreement with Pfizer is a step forward in expanding worldwide capacity in tropical disease research, because it enhances access to research tools for developing country researchers and expands access to large numbers of compounds for screening to identify new leads," said Dr Robert Ridley, director of WHO/TDR.

"This collaboration also supports the sharing of knowledge between developed and developing country scientists, necessary to build research capacity in developing countries," Ridley added.

Pfizer has initially provided 12,000 compounds, many of which are known to have activity against protozoan or helminth parasites. As WHO/TDR increases screening capacity across its network, Pfizer will provide more compounds. The company's scientists will identify the compounds most likely to address biochemical targets associated with anti-parasitic activity.

"People are suffering in developing countries and we want to help by sharing resources and boosting research against tropical diseases," said Dr. Martin Mackay, senior vice president of Research & Technology, Pfizer Global Research & Development. "This is early-stage research, which means that effective new treatments are still years downstream, but it certainly improves the chances of identifying compounds that may lead to new drugs. We believe public-private research collaborations are vital to tackling heath challenges in developing countries, and we are already exploring ways in which our collaboration with WHO/TDR might be expanded to further aid in the search for drugs with the potential to treat tropical diseases," he added.

WHO/TDR's Compound Evaluation and Medicinal Chemistry Networks include institutes and laboratories worldwide with broad expertise in parasitic diseases. The Pfizer collaboration, however, provides the TDR-sponsored networks with greatly expanded access to chemical compounds for screening and research.

Dr. Ridley hopes the new Pfizer collaboration will encourage other companies to join and expand the WHO/TDR Networks, and to explore further collaborations with developing country researchers in discovery research. "This can be a model for other industry collaboration. It can help attract more companies to invest in tropical disease drug discovery," he said.

WHO/TDR is an independent global program of scientific collaboration established in 1975 and co-sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank and the WHO.