AR-News: (Italy) Vatican Buys Drug Lab

[Mary Finelli]

VATICAN BUYS DRUG LAB
A Catholic Charity with Close Links to the Holy See Buys Oncology Lab from 
Pfizer
The Scientist, Marta Paterlini, April 7, 2004
http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20040407/02


The Congregazione dei Figli dell'Immacolata Concezione (CFIC)
[ http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dqfic.html ], a nonprofit group 
with close links to the Vatican, is to become the proud owner of one of 
Italy's leading drug research labs.

The lab in Nerviano, close to Milan, is currently owned by drug giant 
Pfizer, which is shutting down its Italian outfit. A binding contract is 
going to be signed by the two counterparts on May 15, and Umberto Rosa, 
currently chief of Sorin Biomedica, will be appointed as the new director.

The pharmaceutical center in Nerviano has 800 employees and international 
fame in oncology drug research. Scientists there have been worried that they 
would all lose their jobs, as has happened in other Pfizer centers, and have 
gained the attention of the country by protesting publicly and setting up 
road blocks. “We shook up public opinion and became a political case,” staff 
scientist Marco Tatò told The Scientist.

Researchers in Nerviano have seen several mergers in the past decade, the 
latest in 2002, when Pfizer acquired Pharmacia. As a result, several 
research lines have already been stopped. “We risked becoming an empty 
shell,” Tatò said. “We are satisfied now, though still very cautious.”

Pfizer's research portfolio in Nerviano focused on kinase inhibitors 
targeting specific oncogenesis cascades, five of which are in clinical 
trials at the moment.

“It is still premature to foresee the future,” Giulio Draetta, scientific 
director in Nerviano, told The Scientist. “However, it would be a pity to 
stop our research line, since Italy, and in particular the Milan area, is a 
leader in oncology research after the United Kingdom.”

According to the agreement, Pfizer will transfer to CFIC technologies 
associated with the lab, including the access to the kinase platform and a 
number of research and development projects.

CFIC, founded in 1857, is already engaged in healthcare and plans to invest 
€300 million in the new enterprise. It would like to reinforce its large 
network of hospitals and differentiate its interests. It aims to create an 
independent research center, a focal point for oncology studies in Italy and 
Europe, which leaves researchers hopeful that, at least for now, the passage 
from Pfizer to CFIC should not affect existing research trends.

Links for this article
Congregazione dei Figli dell'Immacolata Concezione
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dqfic.html

Sorin Biomedica
http://www.sorin-cid.com/

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