The University of Nebraska Medical University (UNMC) and Purdue Pharma have collaborated to advance new drug development for patients suffering from pain and other chronic diseases.
Through the collaboration, UNMC and Purdue will jointly carry out research in neurosciences related to pain, the central nervous system, and other chronic diseases.
UNMC chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold said: “The alliance will aid in advancement of UNMC's mission to conduct basic and clinical research toward the goal of improving the lives of patients.
"Pharmaceutical companies are looking more toward academic medical centres like ours for the talented graduate students and researchers who will develop the next-generation of potential therapies and products."
A team of researchers at Purdue Pharma is focused on understanding the pathophysiology of these diseases in an effort to identify new ways to develop and investigate potential therapies.
Both the organisations will work together to identify strategies for understanding pain and developing new approaches or therapies for pain that avoid substance abuse, as well as other types of neuroscience research, UNMC said in a statement.
Purdue Pharma discovery research vice-president Don Kyle said: "We are building a new model for industry-academic relationships with this partnership that will enable open and frequent dialog across disciplines and between the two organisations.
"This model will not only drive innovations in R&D, but will also facilitate learning and create professional growth opportunities."
The partnership also includes a new Purdue Pharma Scholar Programme with funding for graduate students involved in the research into neuroscience, particularly pain research.
Image: Purdue Pharma discovery research vice-president Don Kyle. Photo: courtesy of University of Nebraska Medical Center.
