Karolinska Institutet Holding, a holding company of Sweden-based university Karolinska Institute, has signed a collaboration agreement with Johnson & Johnson Innovation, a subsidiary of healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson.
Johnson & Johnson plans to set up a life science innovation hub at the university that will fund the commercialisation of research through the resulting spin-outs. The two partners will also exchange knowledge and set up mentoring and scouting initiatives.
Concurrently, Karolinska also signed a research agreement with Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals to initiate a study that will look at the observational effects of treatments, relating them to those identified in clinical trials and taking into account social and economic factors.
The study will initially focus on treatments for depression and prostate cancer as well cancers of the immune system and psoriasis, a chronic skin condition characterised by lesions.
Karolinska Institutet Holding acts as Karolinska Institute’s holding company for five subsidiaries which focus on various aspects of life science and medical technology innovation, including the commercialisation of university research.
Anders Hamsten, vice-chancellor of Karolinska Institute, said: “An important part of our strategy for the years to come is to establish collaborations with industry so as to strengthen innovation at our university and support corporate development from new discoveries and the implementation in healthcare.
“The collaborations with Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Janssen are an important step in that direction.”