Print“The innovation center concept has gained traction with Big Pharma in recent years as some companies have trimmed internal research and development programs and sought to gain earlier access to novel assets.”
Johnson & Johnson says it will establish four regional innovation centers in global life science hubs as part of its effort to accelerate early innovation and enhance opportunities for collaboration and investment across its global healthcare businesses. The centers will open during the next few months in San Francisco, Boston, London, and China, and will focus on identifying early-stage innovations, and establishing novel collaborations to invest in. The company also wants to use the centers to speed development of products serving unmet medical needs.
In addition to housing science and technology experts, each center will have local deal-making capabilities, with flexibility to adapt deal structures to match the early-stage opportunity.
J&J hopes the new centers will also provide scientists, entrepreneurs, and emerging companies focused on early-stage opportunities with one-stop access to experts within the company who can facilitate collaborations across its pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics, and consumer companies.
“The innovation centers allow us to be closer to where the innovation occurs, to access and invest in the best early-stage science and technology, and to fuel our business as well as the health of the innovation ecosystem overall,” says Paul Stoffels, J&J's global chairman of pharmaceuticals.
Ultimately, J&J hopes its new centers will simplify deal making access and coordination for entrepreneurs who can find navigating the company’s 118,000-employee, multi-company organization difficult at times.
“By refocusing our outward facing activities and locating our experts and our deal-making capabilities in those regional hubs we can simplify the deal making and coordination for entrepreneurs,” says Diego Miralles, head of the company’s San Diego-based innovation center.
The innovation center concept has gained traction with Big Pharma in recent years as some companies have trimmed internal research and development programs and sought to gain earlier access to novel assets with commercial potential from outside sources.
In October 2007, AstraZeneca launched its own Chinese Innovation Center in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park. More closely akin to J&J’s effort are Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation. Initiated in November 2010, that program has since established partnerships with 20 leading academic medical centers across the United States, supporting collaborative projects from four dedicated labs in Boston, New York City, San Francisco, and San Diego.
September 20, 2012
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-johnson_johnson_plans_new_global_innovation_centers.html
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