Sanofi today announced the creation of a partnering office at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst to engage and collaborate with the network of bioscience companies and academia that form part of the UK’s vibrant life sciences ecosystem. This collaboration reflects Sanofi's commitment to open innovation and collaboration that is necessary to accelerate the translation of transformative innovation.
“Sanofi is committed to bringing breakthrough science to the clinic and to accelerate the translation of innovation into effective treatments for patients,” said Yvonne Naughton, Head of External Science and Partnering, UK & Ireland at Sanofi. “At Sanofi we recognise that the next big discovery may come from outside of our own laboratories. Core to our strategy is to build strong relationships with biotechnology organisations, research institutes and academic centres.”
The collaboration with Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is one example of partnering initiatives being led within the UK and Ireland by Sanofi’s External Science & Partnering function. Sanofi works with partners to develop mutually beneficial relationships with the singular focus of advancing high-quality scientific research with the goal of improving the lives of patients in areas of high unmet need. Key areas of research interest to Sanofi include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, rare diseases, vaccines, immunology, oncology, multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases.
“Sanofi is a fantastic addition to the thriving ecosystem developing here, and we are delighted that it recognises the value of being part of our innovation-focused community,” added Martino Picardo, CEO of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst. “Sanofi’s expertise in a range of therapeutic and technical areas will play an important role as we and our tenants continue to focus on better healthcare driven by collaboration. With Sanofi's focus on transformative new medicines and openness to external innovation, there is a strong strategic fit with SBC and we anticipate a long and fruitful relationship.”
About Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC) opened as the UK's first open innovation biomedical campus in 2012, and combines a unique blend of infrastructure and virtual networks to drive collaboration. Backed by a novel partnership between Government, GlaxoSmithKline and the Wellcome Trust, the remit was, and remains, to catalyse innovation for patient benefit in a phased development. SBC has a strong commitment to companies that focus on high quality science and share its vision, and its development of activity clusters and direct access to the expertise of a major pharmaceutical company are among its unique characteristics. There is start-up and grow-on space for companies, plus a commercially focused management team viewed as a leader in UK incubation. With Phase 1 complete, Phase 2 is in development for the continuation of the collaborative vision, with a focus on open innovation and convergent medical technologies. Co-located with GlaxoSmithKline in Stevenage, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is located close to both London and Cambridge. For more information, please go to www.stevenagecatalyst.com.