Big pharma's interest in stem cell research is picking up speed. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is expanding its research into the technology and plans to open a second regenerative medicine unit in Cambridge, UK, this November, Reuters reported yesterday.

Pfizer isn't the only one. In July, GlaxoSmithKline entered a 5-year, $25 million collaboration with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

In the spring, Pfizer opened a regenerative medicine unit in Cambridge, Massachusetts, focusing on stem cells for cardiac disorders and cancer, according to the company's Web site. The new UK site will eventually house 60 scientists and research will focus on age-related and degenerative and nervous system disorders.

While Pfizer's stem cell research policy does not rule out the use of embryonic stem cells, the company is also extremely interested in induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, John McNeish, head of the Massachusetts operation, told Reuters at the World Stem Cell Summit, held this week in Madison, Wisconsin.

In June, Pfizer also entered a $3 million partnership with EyeCyte, Inc., a California company whose technology uses blood and bone marrow progenitor cells to treat retinal diseases.