Industry

Industry partners work with the FNIH to build powerful scientific collaborations that fuel biomedical discovery. By bringing world-class scientists, critical datasets, the latest technology and financial resources to these partnerships, industry helps the FNIH facilitate the exchange of ideas in a pre- or non-competitive environment that would not be possible otherwise.

Pfizer

Pfizer’s sustained commitment to the FNIH spanning two decades has bolstered a suite of biomedical initiatives on topics from genetics to lung cancer, laying the groundwork for important discoveries.

The company’s scientific leadership and financial support to the FNIH have expanded understanding of the genetic causes of common diseases, enabled pediatric testing programs for drugs and increased knowledge of Alzheimer’s and lung cancer, to name a few. It also furthered the careers of research-oriented medical and dental students by sponsoring training at the NIH.

Additionally, Pfizer leaders, including Dr. Freda C. Lewis-Hall, have brought their vision and expertise to the FNIH Board of Directors. “The world is chock-full of promising scientific leads and information that is valuable in the service of patients, and the FNIH is a key conduit in the flow of these ideas,” said Dr. Lewis-Hall. “It’s hard to believe that the FNIH has been operating for just over 20 years, as its become such an important facilitator of the public-private partnerships that ultimately expand the universe of biomedical science, especially the science that can be translated into new therapies and the science that provides a rocket-boost to other medical research endeavors.”

Lilly

Since 2000, Lilly and the FNIH have advanced critical research to increase scientific understanding across multiple diseases, including osteoporosis, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, through 44 projects.

In particular, Lilly played an essential role in the establishment of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), becoming the first company to join the partnership 13 years ago and championing support from other industry representatives. “ADNI has increased our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by identifying and validating biomarkers, including specific imaging for tau and amyloid as hallmarks of this disease that indicate the onset and progression of AD,” explained Lilly’s Jan Lundberg, Ph.D. “ADNI’s work helps biopharmaceutical companies like Lilly improve clinical trial design and test new medicines.” Read about ADNI at fnih.org/ADNI3

Lilly also supports projects within the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium and is a significant proponent of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP), particularly the AMP-AD and the AMP Type 2 Diabetes projects. “Data from AMP and other FNIH partnerships are guiding our evolving strategy for AD and diabetes drug discovery and development,” said Dr. Lundberg. “Ultimately, that will benefit millions of patients including understanding disease sub-classification and patient stratification signature.” Learn more about AMP at fnih.org/AMP.

Dr. Lundberg continued, “It is essential to encourage the exchange and robust scientific discussion of new ideas. To this end, I would say the number one benefit to Lilly from our investment in FNIH is the foundation’s ability to accelerate biomedical research by creating public-private partnerships where scientists interact and learn from each other across different sectors of the biomedical healthcare system, including regulatory authorities.”