Pfizer signs licensing agreement with Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

MADISON, Wis. The world’s largest drug maker has signed a licensing agreement with a patenting and licensing organization for the Univeristy of Wisconsin-Madison to use human embryonic stem cell patents to develop new drug therapies.

Pfizer said that under its agreement with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the license will the company the rights to work with hES cells for drug research and discovery.

“Our license with WARF provides us with information and materials that will allow us to use their cell lines to explore a whole range of therapies,” Pfizer Regenerative Medicine chief scientific officer Ruth McKernan said. “Stem cells can be used to create specialized human tissue. Our scientists will determine how new medicines may be able to improve the way stem cells regenerate damaged tissues.”