Bayer Joins with Local Hospitals to Open Joint Research Lab

Bayer and Partners HealthCare’s founding members Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have announced the launch of a joint lab to research new drug candidates to treat chronic lung diseases. The joint lab will host scientists from all three parties and Bayer is investing more than $30 million to fund joint research projects over the next five years.

Chronic lung disease is a broad term for a number of diseases of the airways and other structures of the lung, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). About 65 million people suffer from COPD and 3 million die from it each year, making it the third leading cause of death worldwide.

“We strongly believe that this model will significantly accelerate the pace of discovery toward the goal of getting new therapies from the lab to patients safely and efficiently,” said Paul Anderson, MD, PhD, SVP and Chief Academic Officer, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “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.”

The new lab, to be located at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, will see more than 20 people from all three organizations work in combined teams. Scientists will work side-by-side, combining Bayer’s capabilities in drug discovery and development with the complementary clinical expertise, understanding of disease mechanisms, data analysis capabilities and insights from leading physician scientists of Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The rights to the research findings will be shared equally between the organizations.

The new lab bolsters Bayer’s existing presence in Boston. Earlier this year, Bayer committed to opening lab and office space in the heart of Kendall Square to further expand its research and development efforts. In 2018, Bayer established a first joint lab in Boston together with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in the area of cardiovascular diseases. (Source: Bayer AG Website, 24 September, 2019)