Pfizer to expand clinical trials in Asia, work on development of antibiotics for drug-resistant TB

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer said on Wednesday that it plans to increase the number of clinical trials it's conducting in Singapore by 10 percent as part of an effort "to design drugs for diseases prevalent in the region," Reuters reports.

"Its clinical research unit in Singapore - which had a volunteer list of 14,000 healthy individuals - would be used as a base for Asia-specific research, its research and development (R&D) executives said in Singapore," the news service writes (Lyn, 4/7).

"The Singapore facility, in which Pfizer has invested more than S$60 million has seen the volume of clinical trials rise 35 percent since 2001," channelnewsasia.com writes (Joseph, 4/7).

Pfizer also "said it will collaborate with closely held MicuRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Union City, California, and China-based Cumencor Pharmaceuticals Inc. to develop antibiotics for drug-resistant tuberculosis in China," Bloomberg reports. "China has more than 25 percent of the world's multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, Pfizer said, citing the World Health Organization," the news service writes (Bennett, 4/7).