J&J Opens New Innovation Center In China

Johnson & Johnson Innovation announced the launch of its new Asia Pacific Innovation Center based in Shanghai with satellite centers in Japan, Singapore, and Australia. At the same time, the company also announced six collaborations established with partners in China and Australia.

J&J said the Asia Pacific Innovation Center expands its network in life science hotspots around the world. Through the Center, J&J will work with local science and tech experts to identify and develop potential early stage drug leads in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and medical devices and diagnostics.

Dong Wu, Head of the J&J Innovation Asia Pacific Innovation Center, says that life science industry growth is taking off in the Asia Pacific region, particularly China. “The Asia Pacific Innovation Center plans to build on the Company's track record of collaboration in the region and advance the most promising science. It will play a key role in sourcing early stage science in the region for the development of new medicines, medical devices, and consumer products.”

The company’s new collaborations in China include an R&D partnership with the China Pharmaceutical University that will center on the development of a novel antibody-drug conjugate to treat solid tumors, as well as a similar R&D agreement with Peking University to identify agonists and antagonists for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for novel CNS drugs. A separate R&D collaboration with Zhejiang University will further study a drug lead for metabolic syndromes, such as diabetes and obesity. J&J will also be building a relationship with Suzhou BioBAY to foster interaction with local academics and entrepreneurs.

J&J also established two new collaborations in Australia. The company agreed to work with Queensland's James Cook University to explore a therapeutic lead for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The company also announced that it has extended its partnership with the University of Queensland (UoQ) on a peptide discovery project for potential treatments for pain.

“We are excited to launch the Asia Pacific Innovation Center… Our goal is to collaborate with the best minds in the region to advance new technologies and deliver transformative solutions for the people of China and Asia Pacific at large, and throughout the world,” said Paul Stoffels, J&J CSO and Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals.

Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson announced that its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals has joined the race to deliver a vaccine against Ebola virus.