Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute has partnered with Pfizer as part of Pfizer's focus on translational medicine. The Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) is Pfizer’s research unit dedicated to establishing global partnerships with academic research institutions.

Working with the CTI unit at Pfizer will provide Sanford-Burnham investigators with access to additional resources including select Pfizer compound libraries, proprietary screening methods and antibody development technologies that are directly relevant to the investigators' work.

"Partnering with Pfizer accelerates our ability to translate our research more quickly into the development of biopharmaceutical products," said Sanford-Burnham chief executive officer John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., professor and Donald Bren chief executive chair.

CTI have been established by Pfizer in New York, Boston, San Francisco and San Diego, where the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) announced its participation in August 2011. Sanford-Burnham is one of only two participating institutions that are not academic medical centers. Given Sanford-Burnham's proximity to UCSD, it is anticipated the Institute will collaborate with UCSD when a project reaches the clinical stage.

The CTI will provide funding to principal investigators for postdoctoral support and provide technical support—including dedicated personnel—in addition to access to infrastructure encompassing laboratory space, chemical libraries, robots, etc.

"Pfizer's CTI program represents a new model for early-stage drug development," said Paul Laikind, Sanford-Burnham's chief business officer, entrepreneur and founder of three startups now publicly traded. "Aggressively working to close the gap between discovery research and clinical application benefits research, benefits patients and ultimately adds to the innovation economy."