The New York City-based pharmaceutical giant (NYSE: PFE) announced today it is starting a five-year, $100 million research collaboration in Boston with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard University, Partners HealthCare, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. The partnerships are part of Pfizer’s broader R&D network, called the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (also in New York and San Francisco), which aim to close the gap between basic research and clinical trials of new drug candidates. Pfizer said it has signed a lease for lab space at the Center for Life Science in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, which will serve as the headquarters for the R&D network. The Boston program’s $100 million price tag includes support for research programs, potential milestone payments to partners, and operational costs of the new lab.
