Pharmaceutical company to fund up to $10 million to pursue new therapeutics
From the WashU School of Medicine News…
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has joined with Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals in a collaborative research partnership aimed at pursuing new therapies for patients with complex medical conditions, especially rare diseases that may have few or no treatment options.
The global pharmaceutical company, which has maintained a presence in St. Louis since its founding more than 150 years ago, will fund up to $10 million over five years to support research projects that show promise in developing new drugs or in supporting basic research that is likely to have medical applications. The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis, with projects selected by a committee consisting of experts from the School of Medicine and Mallinckrodt.
“Washington University is a research powerhouse, and by partnering with Mallinckrodt we are looking to harness that power and direct it into specific drug development and research projects that are most likely to benefit patients,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine. “In keeping with our focus on personalized medicine, a goal of the partnership is to develop new ways to help people with debilitating, complex conditions that lack effective treatment options.”
The program consists of two funding types. Mallinckrodt Program Grants will award up to $750,000 per year for projects with a high likelihood of moving an investigational therapy into the clinic. Mallinckrodt Challenge Grants will provide up to $150,000 to $300,000 annually for laboratory research that is deemed likely to have future medical applications. Faculty with funded projects will be Mallinckrodt Investigators and have access to additional resources and services provided by the company, including analytical chemistry tools and expertise; drug formulation support; and resources for navigating regulatory requirements for drug development.