RALEIGH The North Carolina Biotechnology Center revealed Tuesday that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. has committed $4 million to the center to establish multi-year academic fellowships to aid the gene-therapy sector in the state.

The new program, which will be managed by N.C. Biotech, will support distinguished postdoctoral fellowships in North Carolina university research laboratories focused on gene therapy research.

The $4 million grant was announced during the CED Life Science Convention being held in Raleigh this week.

Pfizers contribution represents another step in its relationship with the state. The company operates a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Sanford, and last August, it purchased the Chapel Hill-based gene-therapy company Bamboo Therapeutics Inc. for $645 million.

Jude Samulski, director of the Gene Therapy Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill co-founded Bamboo. Samulski was recruited to UNC in 1993 as part of a $430,000 N.C. Biotech grant and Bamboos former parent company received more than $700,000 in Biotech Center grants and loans.

The announcement of the fellowship is an indicator that Bamboo is still committed to the area after the Pfizer acquisition.

The funding provided by Pfizer will enable N.C. Biotech to create two-year fellowships for postdoctoral scientists. The funding will cover salaries, benefits, materials, professional development and travel for the scientists. Information about the fellowships can be found at http://www.ncbiotech.org/pfizer-fellowships.

Pfizer embraced the opportunity to work with us given weve proven for more than 30 years that we have the expertise and success metrics to maximize impact, Biotech Center CEO Doug Edgeton said in a statement. We not only have outstanding research institutions across our state, but we also have a well-respected culture of partnering and collaboration that allows us to be nimble and responsive.

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N.C. Biotech Center gets $4M grant from Pfizer | Business ... - Durham Herald Sun

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