Those reports about the pharmaceutical industry going to the dogs must be true.

The big drugmaker is ponying up $1.1 million to create a biotumor tissue specimen bank in hopes of treating and curing canine cancer. The funds will be provided to the Canine Comparative Oncology and Genetics Consortium, a group of veterinary and medical researchers, and overseen by the Morris Animal Foundation, which says such funding is accepted only for animal-health studies, not administrative or marketing costs.

Of course, Pfizer does stand to benefit.

Michelle Haven, executive director of global discovery for Pfizer’s Animal Health unit, has this to say in the press release: “Cancer is a serious health issue for pets with approximately 50 percent of dogs over the age of 10 dying of cancer. We work closely with our colleagues at Pfizer’s (human drug unit) to ensure that we take advantage of any scientific research opportunities that may hold benefit for both humans and animals.”

Eventually, the bank will hold 3,000 samples of various cancers. But first, another $600,000 is needed toward the final cost of $2.2 billion to get going. Who else is going to bark up this tree?

[tags]Animal Health, Dogs, Morris Animal Foundation, Pfizer[/tags]