Bayer HealthCare, Kyoto University Sign Research Pact
Bayer HealthCare and Kyoto University's Office of Society-Academia Collaboration for Innovation (KU-SACI) have signed a two-year collaboration agreement to jointly identify candidates for possible collaborative research projects. The partners will focus on key areas of worldwide unmet medical need, such as cardiology, oncology, hematology, gynecology, and ophthalmology.
The collaboration is part of Bayer's overall approach to partner with external partners from academia and industry. Recently launched collaborations include a strategic research alliance in the area of gynecological therapies with the University of Oxford, UK, and a pact with Dimension Therapeutics for the development and commercialization of a novel gene therapy for the treatment of hemophilia A. In addition, Bayer has established two research incubators for young life-sciences companies in the context of its open innovation approach, named “CoLaborator,” at Bayer's research and development sites in San Francisco and Berlin.
The agreement with KU-SACI seeks to leverage Kyoto University's expertise and innovative approaches in diverse research areas and combine it with Bayer's expertise in drug discovery and development. The endeavor will be supported by Bayer's newly established Open Innovation Center Japan in Osaka, Japan. The Bayer Open Innovation Center in Japan was launched on June 1, 2014. Its main activities are focused on identifying potential collaborative research projects in Japan that explore the mechanisms of diseases related to significant unmet medical needs and to advance the development of therapeutic drugs for those diseases. The center seeks to strengthen the company's network with academic research centers and venture companies in Japan and develop opportunities for joint research and partnering in Bayer's fields of expertise.
The threefold mission of the KU-SACI is (1) to promote collaborative research among academia, industries, and the government, (2) to manage and utilize the university's intellectual properties through licensing and research collaboration with industries, and (3) to support business start-ups by university researchers or students.
Source: Bayer HealthCare