Pfizer's CTI Requests Proposals for Small-Molecule Accelerator (SMA) Initiative

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CTI, or Pfizer's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, is a unique program that partners with leading academic medical centers and foundations nationwide in an effort to speed the translation of novel targets to the clinic. CTI's goal is to identify new compounds and accelerate research from validated target to proof-of-mechanism in the clinic.

Advantages to Collaborating with CTI

A partnership with CTI may include collaborative use of Pfizer's technologies and compound library, publishing rights, and financial awards in the form of milestone and royalty payments for successful programs, in addition to providing appropriate funds for carrying out the collaborative work.

CTI's foundation partners include:

• Alliance for Lupus Research
• Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation
• Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America

New Initiative: CTI's Small-molecule Accelerator

• In addition to the usual small-molecule request for proposals, CTI is introducing a Small Molecule Accelerator (SMA) Initiative
• The CTI SMA program is based on a select set of characterized lead-like small-molecule compounds with activity and selectivity for established targets
• The compounds within the SMA:
  • Are selective pharmacological modulators representative of a lead quality series (Details regarding small-molecule inhibitors included in the SMA will be shared upon request); and
  • Are suitable for cel-based target validation assays at a minimum; some are suitable for preclinical in-vivo experiments; and may have been through in-vivo toxicology screens
• Proposals must delineate a plan to evaluate one or a small number of these compounds in a specific assay in the laboratory of the Investigator, evaluating a target-related hypothesis

List of Biological Target/Class

Pre-Proposal Submission Process

Submission entails a brief, non-confidential 2-3 page overview of the target, mechanism (including evidence for disease linkage), and the proposed therapeutic drug. At a high-level, the pre-proposal should suggest how the therapeutic hypothesis could be tested in the clinic.

All researchers and clinicians whose work meets these criteria are invited to apply.

For more information or questions, please contact Venkat Reddy at Pfizer or Nate Hafer at UMass Chan.

Thank you for your interest in Pfizer's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation.  We look forward to your ideas.