Generous Eckenstein-Geigy Foundation facilitates research in paediatric medicine
The Eckenstein-Geigy Foundation is sponsoring the urgently needed research and development of medicines for children and adolescents to the tune of 15 million francs. For ten years initially an Eckenstein-Geigy Research Professor for Paediatric Pharmacology and a Department of Clinical Pharmacology in Paediatrics will be established at the University Paediatric Hospital of Basel City and Baselland (UKBB). Today, there are still major gaps in knowledge and risks in paediatric pharmacology: very many medicines administered to children have not been tested as extensively as is standard practice in adult medicine.
The generous donation for the endowment of a research chair and a clinical pharmacological department in paediatric medicine will substantially help to obtain new scientific findings on the absorption and efficacy of medicines in children and adolescents. With 50 to 90 percent of medicines administered to children and adolescents not having been adequately tested in this age group for safety and efficacy, this knowledge is urgently needed.
Networking and synergies
The objective is to establish close collaboration with paediatric clinics of other universities in Switzerland. There are also plans for international networking, especially with the University of Oxford (UK), with which a close collaboration is being established in the field of paediatric medicine. Thanks to its unique position in Switzerland for this specialty, the Eckenstein-Geigy Department of Paediatric Pharmacology could play a pioneering role for Switzerland and other parts of Europe. In view of the excellent biomedical and pharmaceutical environment in Basel, outstanding conditions and opportunities are in place for this initiative.
For further information: www.unibas.ch