(Vancouver) A major national research project, co-led by Drs. Bruce Carleton and Michael Hayden, to improve drug safety for children, today received a major contribution of $500,000 from Pfizer Canada Inc. The project, named “Genotype-Specific Approaches to Therapy in Childhood (GATC)”, receives major funding from a Genome Canada/Genome BC-sponsored research program and is led from two research centres within the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children’s Hospital.

A failure of modern medicine is the debilitating and lethal consequences of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) which rank as one of the leading causes of death and illness in North America. Children are at a greater risk for severe ADRs, yet there remains a lack of understanding of their causes due in part to an inability to conduct pediatric patient studies of similar rigour and scope as in adult populations. The goal of GATC is to promote the health and well-being of Canadian children and of the global pediatric community by developing cost-effective interventions to reduce life-long disabilities and deaths caused by severe ADRs. The project will identify pediatric patients experiencing ADRs, collect DNA samples, apply genomics-based technologies to identify ADR-associated genetic markers and help predict and prevent drug toxicity.

The GATC project is also working collaboratively with the Canadian Association of Pediatric Health Centres (CAPHC) and Health Canada to develop this active surveillance program for adverse drug effects in children.

Dr. Bruce Carleton, Director of the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research at the Children’s & Women’s Health Centre of BC and UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is an international leader in drug safety research. Dr. Michael Hayden, the Director of the Centre for Molecular Medicine & Therapeutics, is an internationally recognized expert in genetics.

The GATC project budget is set at $8.4 million over three years and half of this funding is provided by Genome Canada through Genome British Columbia.

Project partners include nine universities and fifteen other companies and institutions.

“This project will bring a more personalized approach to therapy in children by tailoring therapy for a particular patient based on their genetic make-up and thereby reduce adverse events of different treatments, ” says Dr. Hayden.

“Our ultimate goal is to be able to translate the genetic knowledge that our team will generate into safer and more effective drug therapy for children, and for patients of all ages,” adds Dr. Carleton.

“We are pleased to welcome Pfizer Canada Inc. as a partner in this important national initiative. This program will help to save lives by identifying adverse drug reaction markers that may be used to prevent and predict drug toxicity in children,” said Alan Winter, President and CEO of Genome BC. “It also demonstrates the value of collaboration between government, academia and industry for the benefit of all Canadians.”

The CFRI and UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, as advocates for drug safety research, especially welcome the participation of a company that is a major force for innovation in the development of medicines.

“We welcome the participation of Pfizer Canada Inc. as a clear demonstration of the company’s commitment to drug safety generally, and children specifically,” says Dr. Stuart MacLeod, Executive Director of CFRI.

“The international caliber of Drs. Hayden and Carleton sets the stage for this unique project to discover the specific genetic markers that will predispose a child to have an adverse drug reaction,” says Mr. Jean-Michel Halfon, President of Pfizer Canada Inc. “Participating in this research project is another example of Pfizer Canada’s leadership and commitment to independent science-based research on the safety of medicines,” he added.

Pfizer Canada Inc. is the Canadian operation of Pfizer Inc., the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical company. Pfizer discovers and develops leading prescription medicines for both humans and animals, as well as many of the world’s best-known over-the-counter healthcare products. Pfizer Canada employs more than 2,000 people across Canada.

For further information please contact:
Linda Bartz
Director, Communications
Genome British Columbia
Tel: 604 637 4373

Rhonda O’Gallagher
Director, Corporate Communications
Pfizer Canada Inc.
rhonda.ogallagher@pfizer.com
Tel: 514 693 4090