PHILADELPHIA, and WILMINGTON, Del., March 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AstraZeneca and the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, a leading educational and research center, today announced entering into a research collaboration agreement that will allow for pre-clinical and clinical research on new treatments for a number of medical conditions.
This renewable, three-year, master agreement establishes a framework for collaboration on a variety of research projects that complement the research being independently conducted by each institution. Initial activity will commence in such areas as addiction, cognition, anxiety, depression and stress-related disorders, but is expected to include several other disease areas. The agreement addresses how AstraZeneca and the Penn School of Medicine will work together to support and sponsor pre-clinical and clinical research in ways that stimulate greater understanding of disease and lead to new treatment options for patients. The specific terms of the agreement are confidential.
"There remains a great need for quality research in areas that further our shared goals of bringing innovative medicines safely to patients who need them," said Rick Sax, MD, AstraZeneca Vice President, Global Medical Sciences. "We hope that by collaborating with a premier organization like the University of Pennsylvania our combined expertise and support will stimulate scientific and medical breakthroughs that improve our understanding of disease and allow for more rapid development of therapies to address the unmet medical needs of patients."
The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has a strong research history in cancer biology, cardiovascular disease, and genetics, among many disciplines, as well as neurology and the neurosciences, which impinges on initial research activities. "We look forward to a fruitful research collaboration with AstraZeneca," said Dr. Arthur H. Rubenstein, Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and Dean of the School of Medicine. "By combining our resources and research expertise, we hope to bring better treatments to patients more quickly."
AstraZeneca's rich research history has led to several new treatments for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neurological, and respiratory diseases. The company has also pioneered new and innovative treatments for cancer and infection that have redefined how diseases such as breast cancer are treated.
ABOUT PENN MEDICINE
PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Penn's School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #4 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 full time faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.
Penn Health System comprises: its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, consistently rated one of the nation's "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; Presbyterian Medical Center; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home health care and hospice.
ABOUT ASTRAZENECA
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $23.95 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $10.77 billion healthcare business with more than 12,000 employees. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index. Worldwide, AstraZeneca has six major research and development sites, four discovery facilities and a clinical research site. In total, AstraZeneca's R&D organization is comprised of more than 11,500 people located in seven countries including Canada, France, India, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com.
AstraZenecaCONTACT: Chris Sampson, AstraZeneca, +1-617-901-4031,christopher.sampson@astrazeneca.com, or Karen Kreeger, University ofPennsylvania, +1-215-349-5658, Karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
Web site: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/
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