Undaunted by the controversy over its $50 million deal to fund agricultural research at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) a year ago, the Swiss company Novartis has recently announced a $24 million agreement with the University of Maryland School of Medicine to develop new treatments for schizophrenia.

As part of the Maryland deal, Novartis Pharma AG scientists will work on joint planning and research teams with university researchers. The company's ultimate goal is to "access well diagnosed human brain tissue from their tissue banks and some of their expertise in proteomics," according to Paul Herrling, head of Novartis Pharma Research. And, he adds, "We will have the right to commercially exploit the results as new therapies in mental health."

A similar agreement, which gave the company's Agricultural Discovery Institute in La Jolla first rights to a portion of the genomics research conducted at UCB's Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, spurred protest from some students and staff last year over the ability of Novartis-funded academics to remain scientifically independent (Nature 396, 5; 1998). At about the same time, Novartis confronted discussions on a moratorium on xenotransplantation and a vote on banning gene technology and transgenic animals back home in Switzerland. It was this atmosphere that led the company to consider cutting its Swiss research budget in favor of spending elsewhere.

Since then, "issues have been solved very satisfactorily," says Herrling. "Following the very positive outcome of the vote on gene technology in Switzerland last year...we have resumed our investment in Swiss universities." Nonetheless, he admits that the company's largest research center, located in Basel, which employs almost 4,000 people, has reached maximum capacity. Hence, although the company will continue to invest in the center to maintain its status, Herrling says, "we do not foresee expanding it further," whereas "research will grow both in the US and UK."

The latest deal will funnel millions of dollars into the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC) over six years. Noting that "There has been no major breakthrough in treating schizophrenia since anti-psychotic medications were introduced 45 years ago," MPRC director William Carpenter says, "This agreement will give us the resources to gain a better understanding of the disease and go on to develop and test new approaches."

According to Herrling, the research will include, "the development of novel models of schizophrenia, by identifying protein and gene abnormalities in the brain, and by testing concepts with brain imaging techniques."