Pfizer Canada injects $4.5 million into public research on Alzheimer's disease

Creation of the Pfizer-FRQS Innovation Fund for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders

MONTREAL, June 28, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Pfizer Canada and the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS) are today announcing the creation of the Pfizer-FRQS Innovation Fund for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, thanks to $4.5 million in funding from Pfizer Canada. This FRQS-managed research grant program will be available to Quebec's research community.

There are two parts to the Pfizer-FRQS Innovation Fund for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders. One involves the creation of a consortium of Quebec researchers, while the other is devoted to the funding of high-risk, high-spinoff-potential projects to enable researchers to explore new avenues of research.

"The purpose of creating this fund is to mobilize Quebec researchers, to provide them with an infrastructure that will enable them, among other things, to set up an Alzheimer's patient data registry. It will also make it possible to conduct innovative research for better understanding the mechanisms underlying this disease by exploring research hypotheses that have so far never been investigated. Pfizer Canada's financial support is extremely valuable because it provides a unique opportunity to further our knowledge of this disease, which is having a considerable impact on Quebec society," says Claude Lazure, Ph.D., the FRQS's acting scientific director.

"Pfizer Canada is proud to have been partnering with the FRQS since 2008. Over the past 4 years, the Pfizer-FRQS Innovation Fund has held four competitions and funded 10 large projects in areas such as cancer, AIDS and personalized medicine," notes Allen Van der Wee, General Manager of Pfizer's Primary Business Unit Canada. "Setting up this fund for Alzheimer's disease is part of a broader Pfizer strategy for partnering with the FRQS to meet health needs identified in the Quebec population and is therefore enabling Quebec's life sciences sector to bolster its presence and global leadership".

Quebec, Canada and many other countries in the world recognize Alzheimer's disease as a health intervention priority both in terms of prevention, care and research. In this respect, Quebec has had, since May of 2009, the report entitled "Meeting the Challenge of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders: A Vision Focused on the Individual, Humanism, and Excellence", which makes a series of 24 recommendations, from raising awareness to research.

Details of the Pfizer-FRQS Innovation Fund for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders program will be announced in July on the FRQS's website at www.frqs.gouv.qc.ca.

About the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS)
The mission of the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS), which reports to the Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade, is to support health research to foster the wellness of Quebec's population. Its mandate is to promote and financially support such research, to disseminate knowledge and train researchers, to forge partnerships necessary for the development of Quebec's research and innovation system, and, lastly, to advance research internationally. The FRQS supports 11 groups, 19 centres and 18 thematic research networks. For further information, visit www.frqs.gouv.qc.ca.

About Pfizer in Canada
Pfizer Canada Inc. is the Canadian operation of Pfizer Inc., the world's leading biopharmaceutical company. The company is one of the largest contributors to health research in Canada. Our diversified health care portfolio includes biologic and small molecule medicines and vaccines for humans and animals, and many of the world's best-known consumer products. Every day, Pfizer Canada employees work to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. We apply science and our global resources to improve the health and well-being of Canadians at every stage of life. Our commitment is reflected in everything Pfizer does, from our disease awareness initiatives to our community partnerships, to our belief that it takes more than medication to be truly healthy. To learn more about Pfizer's More than Medication philosophy and programs, visit morethanmedication.ca. To learn more about Pfizer Canada, visit www.pfizer.ca. 

For further information:

Julie-Catherine Racine
Corporate Communications
Pfizer Canada
Telephone: [phone] 
[e-mail]

Michelle Dubuc
Communications and Knowledge Mobilization
Fonds de recherche du Québec
Telephone: [phone], ext. 1235
[e-mail]