Bayer opens US Innovation Center
Signs research agreement with University of California, San Francisco
Bayer HealthCare’s pharmaceutical division has started operations at its US Innovation Center in San Francisco’s Mission Bay life sciences hub. At the same time the company has signed a master agreement for research collaborations with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
UCSF signed a similar agreement with Pfizer last November as part of the US pharmaceutical firm’s Global Centers for Therapeutic Innovation network.
Bayer Schering Pharma’s chairman, Andreas Fibig, said Bayer had chosen San Francisco as the site for its US Innovation Center because of the leading role the area’s research community plays in life science discovery.
‘The master agreement with UCSF sets the stage for a long and successful public-private partnership which builds our pipeline and brings novel medicines to patients,’ he said.
Bayer is expanding its collaborative relationships with academic and life sciences firms in California and in other major scientific networks in the US through a dedicated team of scientists at the US Innovation Center. The ‘Science Hub’ team will identify collaborations in oncology, cardiology and haematology, women’s healthcare and diagnostic imaging.
‘Master agreements like this help smooth the path for innovative research projects that translate academic research into improved patient care,’ said UCSF chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann. ‘This agreement will help researchers at Bayer and UCSF collaborate on a broad range of projects to that end.’
The US Innovation Center also houses Bayer’s 65-member haematology research programme focused on coagulation factors and the discovery of novel biologic drug candidates.
