Rod MacKenzie, SVP and Head of Worldwide PharmaTherapeutics Research, recently gave the keynote address at the Annual Scottish Life Sciences Awards dinner in Edinburgh. This annual gathering attracts more than 750 attendees from the national and international life sciences community to celebrate Scotland’s most innovative companies and entrepreneurs.
Through legacy initiatives, Pfizer today is a major player in the life sciences in Scotland. 
“Between Pfizer and Wyeth, we’ve established 180 unique collaborations with scientists in Scotland, to the tune of 62 million pounds over the past decade," MacKenzie said. "We do that because the science base is outstanding and because we see a real commitment from the highest levels of government, we see industry welcomed at the table and we see the great academic institutions and hospital systems working together."

Pfizer in Scotland

Among Pfizer’s ongoing research interests in Scotland are the Translational Medicine Research Collaboration (TMRC) and the Protein Therapeutics Laboratory.

The TMRC, founded four years ago, is a unique industry-academic-governmental collaboration focusing on the discovery of novel biomarkers. Pfizer, the sole commercial partner, in conjunction with physicians and scientists from the four medical universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, is performing cutting-edge translational research. The aim is to discover novel biomarkers that support Pfizer’s early clinical efforts in diseases such as schizophrenia and diabetes, and are also prevalent in Scotland. 

As well as research at the four medical universities, a core laboratory located at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee supports ongoing efforts with world-class expertise in immunoassay development, genomic/proteomic technologies and bioinformatics/biostatistical analysis. The TMRC core laboratory, which was officially opened in early 2009 by Alex Salmond, First Minister for Scotland, is co-staffed by Pfizer and TMRC scientists, ensuring alignment of research goals with Pfizer’s portfolio objectives.

In addition to translational research, the Protein Therapeutics Laboratory (PTL) in Aberdeen, part of the Global Biotherapeutic Technologies group in BioTherapeutics R&D, is focused on the next generation of novel therapeutic antibodies through research on the primitive immune system of sharks. Shark antibodies are one tenth the size of human antibodies, offering the potential to reach targets beyond the scope of conventional therapies. 
This and other technologies were acquired when Wyeth bought Aberdeen University spin-off company Haptogen in 2007 as part of an ongoing effort to strengthen its biotechnology platform and lead the field in next generation novel protein therapeutics. Located on the Aberdeen University campus in a state-of-the-art purpose-built facility, the PTL houses automated tissue culture, molecular and cellular biological technologies. In addition, Pfizer’s own shark population is maintained in a dedicated facility in the Shetland Isles. 

Innovation Can Change the World

Scotland has played a significant role in delivering biomedical innovation. One of the earliest notable contributions was the work of Joseph Lister, Professor of Surgery at Glasgow University, who pioneered the concept of antiseptic control. Lister’s contributions to health care are still recognized and visible on supermarket shelves today in the form of mouthwash, but in the mid-nineteenth century Lister’s work changed surgical practice and saved countless lives. Among other discoveries that claim Scotland as their home are MRI and PET imaging, the first anti-hepatitis B vaccine, and more recently, Dolly, the first cloned mammal. 

Today, Scotland still endeavors to be on the cutting-edge of biomedical research, as evidenced by its significant investments into regenerative medicine. “The reason this science is so exciting is that it holds out the prospect of cures in some diseases,” said MacKenzie. “Cure is a word that is rarely if ever heard in the world of chronic disease. But be in no doubt, the ability to remove, re-program and return our own cells is coming, and perhaps sooner than we think. Sounds like magic doesn’t it? But only in the same way that the iPhoneTM would have been magic only a few years ago.” 

Scotland has also produced its fair share of pharmaceutical greats (notwithstanding a good proportion of Pfizer’s R&D leadership) including Nobel laureate Sir James Black, who’s pioneering pharmacological research led to the discovery and development of the beta blockers (propranolol), which revolutionized cardiovascular care, as well as histamine blockers (cimetidine), a major advance in the treatment of peptic ulcers. “When you think that most drug discoverers never discover anything, you can see why Jimmy Black is a hero to all of us in the industry,” said MacKenzie.

MacKenzie closed his address with some inspiring words for all who are working together for a healthier world: “Innovation is disruptive. It changes the world. And it is the most powerful economic force in the world. Innovation changes everything.”