Johnson & Johnson (J&J) today upped its efforts in open innovation by opening a partnering office at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst in Stevenage, UK.
The move is part of the global healthcare company’s wider innovation efforts in the UK, which has at its focus the company’s London Innovation Centre – one of four regional hubs planned to collaborate with local scientists and accelerate early stage research.
Experts based at the London site will have a regular presence at the Stevenage office, accord to J&J, and will interact with companies in residence at the Catalyst who are developing new technologies in healthcare.
“Our goal in placing four regional innovation centres in life science hotspots such as London, is to integrate our science and business experts with innovators and entrepreneurs in these communities so that together we can support a strong biotech industry and advance promising healthcare solutions,” said Dr Kurt Hertogs, incubator strategy leader for J&J innovation in the London Innovation Centre.
“Collaboration within the unique incubator environment of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, which was created to provide small organisations access to the resources of larger pharmaceutical companies, is one of the steps we can take to help advance these goals.”
According to its website, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is the UK’s first bioscience campus to focus on open innovation, aiming to bridge internal and external resources of small and large companies.
Companies operating at the site include anti-inflammatory-focused Arachos Pharma, Alzheimer’s researchers Avergen, antibody developers Emerge Biotech and the University of Cambridge.
The Catalyst’s stakeholders include GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the Wellcome Trust, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Technology Strategy Board.
“We are delighted that Johnson & Johnson Innovation in the UK has decided to establish a partnering office at SBC, in a natural extension of our unique pharma incubation model,” said Dr Martino Picardo, CEO of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst.
“With its broad expertise, J&J is a great partner as we look to catalyse innovation across healthcare, from drug discovery to convergent medical technologies.”