The Burrill Report


Tufts University is polishing its pitch to pharmaceutical companies as it chases new revenue from drug discovery and development alliances.

Partnerships between industry and academia have flourished in the United States during recent years as drugmakers have rushed to leverage grant-funded research while simultaneously scaling back on their own research and development spending. Schools eager for new funding sources have been willing partners. Now Tufts hopes its new Institute for Biomedical Partnerships and its extensive new website will help the the school stand out by showcasing its core strengths, technology platforms, discovery, and drug development capabilities.

“We’re focused on establishing a global brand for Tufts drug discovery and development expertise,” says Lawrence Botticelli, the institute’s founder and chief business officer. “The web site is not simply an electronic repository of individuals, but a cogent, strategic expression of potential commercialization opportunities,” he says.

The need to translate innovative research into new therapeutics has intensified both within pharmaceutical companies, which need promising new drug candidates to fill their pipelines, and in academic labs, where many researchers are keen to put cutting-edge concepts to the test in real-world therapeutics.

“We hope that this new portal will enable us to establish meaningful partnerships focused on delivering novel therapeutics and cutting edge technologies, as well as significantly extend current standards of care and clinical practice, locally and globally,” says Tufts professor Ira Herman.



February 09, 2011
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-tufts_seeks_cash_recognition_from_drugmakers.html