Johnson & Johnson has formed a network of partnering offices across the UK as part of its strategy to interact more directly with life science ‘hotspots’ throughout the country.
The healthcare giant says that while its London Innovation Centre, opened in March, “continues to be the primary hub for interactions with the academic and entrepreneurial community” around the capital, it is looking to link up with talent elsewhere. As such, it is opening offices in Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
The partnering offices extends an approach piloted with Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst earlier this year, noted Kurt Hertogs, incubator strategy leader for the London centre. The experience with SBC “confirms this model as an effective way for our scientific teams to interact with innovators and entrepreneurs,” he said.
Mr Hertogs went on to say that “given the number and diversity of research campuses, incubators and life science parks throughout the UK and Europe, we believe the establishing of these regional partnering offices will enable us to reach out and more effectively collaborate with innovators” across the continent.
The firm’s three other innovation hubs, aside from London, are located in Boston, San Francisco and Shanghai.
