Bayer and Boston hospitals collaborate on COPD lab

Bayer and two Boston hospitals have joined forces in a chronic lung disease research product, with the trio championing the ‘joint lab’ model as a blueprint for pharmaceutical research.

The German pharmaceutical company will share any research findings equally with its partners Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

The project is aimed at discovering new drug candidates to treat lung diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Joerg Moeller, head of global research and development at Bayer’s pharmaceuticals division, said that the joint lab concept continues to be an innovative model for collaboration between academia and industry, enabling novel approaches to drug discovery."

Paul Anderson, chief academic officer at BWH, said the model could “significantly accelerate the pace of discovery toward the goal of getting new therapies from the lab to patients safely and efficiently”.

Bayer is to contribute more than $30 million in funding to the lab over the next five years.

Together, the three organisations will contribute a staff force of more than 20 people to work in joint teams.

According to a press release, the model will combine Bayer’s drug discovery capabilities with the clinical expertise of “leading physician scientists” from the two hospitals.

"This collaboration provides the opportunity to integrate novel findings directly into the drug development pipeline, thus speeding up the time to move a new treatment into the clinic,” Anderson added.

The lab will be based in BWH’s Longwood Medical and Academic Area.

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