Deadline for pre-proposals: Friday, November 2, 2018
UC San Diego Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute (ACTRI) and Pfizer's Center for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) are seeking pre-proposals from UC San Diego Health Sciences faculty interested in a drug discovery collaboration with the Pfizer CTI. Proposals are sought for biotherapeutic and small-molecule targets.
Prior to submitting a pre-proposal, investigators are encouraged to meet with Dr. Mary Faris, Senior Director, ES&I, Pfizer, to discuss their projects for suitability for the drug discovery partnership.
CTI Looks for projects geared to drug discovery efforts with the following characteristics:
- Strong project rationale, demonstrated association between target biology and disease mechanism
- Novel drug targets with potential to lead to differentiated drugs
- Link between target pathway and human disease
- Ability to address unmet medical needs
- Feasibility: tractable target, potential for discovery/development plan
Modalities Considered
- Large Molecules: antibodies, proteins, fusion proteins, antibody conjugates
- Small Molecules: target classes include kinases, deubiquitinating enzymes, GPCRs, ion channels, solute transporters, and epigenetic targets
Therapeutic Areas of Interest and Targets/Pathways Focus for Fall 2018
Disease Area Focus:
- Cancer – Select solid tumors, such as Colorectal, Breast, Lung (small cell and non-small cell), Pancreatic, Ovarian
- Autoimmunity/Inflammation – IBD, NAFLD/NASH, Atopic Dermatology, Psoriasis
- Metabolic - T2DM, Cachexia
- Rare - ALS, Huntington’s, Duchene’s or Becker’s muscular dystrophy, non-malignant hematological disorders
Targets/Pathways Focus:
- Immune Activators /Enhancers (e.g., nucleic acid sensing, TLRs, etc.)
- DNA Damage Recognition & Repair (e.g., replication stress or repair enzymes)
- Tissue–Resident Immune modulation ( adaptive & innate, TME, organ specific, such as skin or gut)
- Modulation of tumor cell heterogeneity, senescence, plasticity (including drug resistance)
- Regulation of epithelial biology (i.e. restoring barrier health/integrity)
- Modulation of fibrosis pathways either metabolism/stress-induced, or inflammation-induced (possibly tumor-driven)
- Regulation of antigen-specific tolerance induction and/or modulation of T regulatory cells
- Treatments for repeat expansion diseases including Huntington’s disease, ALS/FTD and myotonic dystrophy
- Interventions to address skeletal and cardiac muscle diseases (including Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophies)
CTI Collaborations may include:
- Funded project-related research
- Hands-on partnering from dedicated Pfizer drug-development experts
- Collaborative use of Pfizer’s science and technologies
- Financial incentives in the form of milestone and royalty payments for successful programs
- Flexible publishing rights
- Involvement of CTI's Foundation alliances
Pre-proposal Submission Process
Submission entails a non-confidential 2-3 page overview of the target, mechanism, 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.
For Information
Please contact Mary Faris and Amrit Shahzad