The research story. Discovery and Development.

A corporate video produced for staff and visitors about the research activities of Pfizer, a pharmaceutical business with a large research facility at Sandwich. The film starts with aerial views of the campus as shot from a small bi-plane. The research library is explained. The interaction of the research and development team is outlined. Chemists are seen at work theorising and then synthesising a drug. Small quantities are sampled. Mass spectrometry is used to analyse these potential new drugs. Biological studies are made (in vitro hearts are shown in a laboratory setting). Only when promising compounds are identified, then animal tests are begun. In the Loire, France, Pfizer has an animal pre-treatment centre at Amboise; a pathology laboratory is shown. Data is analysed by an enormous computer. Next, the Chemical Products Group looks at the production of large scale medicines. The strength and action of tablets and capsules are shown. Clinical trials on human subjects can then be planned across Europe. Pfizer has a working farm where drugs for livestock can be tested under real farming conditions. A great deal of data both computerised and otherwise is gathered.