Swedish life science initiative Uppsala BIO has formed a strategic partnering  agreement with Roche, the world leading pharmaceuticals and diagnostics company, for Uppsala BIO’s open innovation programme, BIO-X.

The cooperation agreement links Uppsala BIO and BIO-X to Roche’s global innovation network on at least a three-year term, and will offer projects selected in the BIO-X programme access to Roche’s expertise in early stage life science product development.

The agreement between Uppsala BIO and Roche is the result of Roche’s search for a European partner to its open innovation programme EIN, Expanding the Innovation Network, and is the first of its kind in Europe.

The BIO-X programme identifies and supports ideas in the research community that can satisfy unmet medical needs or solve problems in healthcare, drug development, and diagnostics. “We are very proud to be the first European partner to sign with Roche´s global program for open innovation Expanding the Innovation Network. Having Roche as a strategic partner opens up great possibilities to our early projects within the BIO-X program,” said Associate Professor Erik Forsberg, managing director for Uppsala BIO.

“The agreement with Roche, which has a long experience in working with early life science projects, is a fantastic opportunity and will give us strategic input on industrial and customer needs and add significant value and competitive edge to the region’s, as well as Sweden’s life sciences sector,” Eric Forsberg added.

Each BIO-X project selected by Roche for collaboration will have a specially assigned contact within Roche, assuring that the projects get access to expertise and other internal resources that can advance the project towards its goal as efficiently as possible. Roche will also co-finance selected projects. In return, Roche will get a right-of-first negotiation.

Roche has a long experience in open innovation. Since 1999, the company has been running a global innovation program based on umbrella agreements with key partners. The agreement concluded between Roche and Uppsala BIO is the result of a long process during which Roche has looked for possible partners in Europe for this program, followed by a thorough evaluation of Uppsala BIO and its BIO-X program. Roche’s program so far has eight partners, reaching almost thirty universities globally with Uppsala BIO being the first open innovation partner in Europe.

“Roche’s program for working with early projects is one of the most promising we have seen in the life science industry, and we are happy that we can offer a cooperation possibility to our early projects that we believe will be highly beneficial for all parties involved, and not least for the possible improvements it can bring to healthcare,” said Associate Professor Lars Hagel, Chairman for Uppsala BIO and Director for external R&D collaborations at GE Healthcare Life Sciences.  

“I strongly believe that bringing in Roche, and its global resources with some of the most experienced life science developers, will be beneficial for the healthcare solutions we can offer our patients, here in Sweden and globally,” said Professor Sune Larsson, Director for Research and Development at Uppsala University Hospital.

The BIO-X program is Uppsala BIO´s core process to bridge the gap between academic results and proof-of-concept, the goal for each projected selected for support in the BIO-X program.

It invites academic researchers from central Sweden, including universities such as Uppsala University, Karolinska Institutet and the Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences, to present their ideas for solutions to needs specified by healthcare and industry in a call. Project proposals are evaluated along criteria such as customer needs and commercialization potential, and selected projects are supported during up to two years with finance and a tailor-made support process.

The restructuring of the life science industry, with shrinking resources for early projects, has created a need for structured approaches that can mature academic research into proof-of-concept, i.e. making it ready for further development in the life science industry.

Roche, a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.