Within its new strategy, BioRN is giving a new emphasis to “Translational Support” with the aim to leverage the unique combination of global pharma and leading innovators in the network to support active translation of excellent biomedical science into clinical applications. In particular, BioRN is looking to and comparing existing models focusing on accelerating academic research to the clinic, through funding and know-how.
Within this scope, Thomas Hanke (EVP, Head of Academic Partnerships) was invited to give a talk on the successful model “evotec BRIDGE” (Biomedical Research, Innovation & Development Generation Efficiency). BRIDGE is an integrated fund and award framework to tap into exciting academic science to generate partnerships with pharma and biotech. It is a new paradigm for project incubation to accelerate research and early development to clinical proof of concept involving all key partners.
At evotec, the concept of an academic BRIDGE model was developed when the published data reproducibility crisis started and simultaneously private investment into academia increased (at least in the US). Eliminating invalid data points right from the start, accelerating slow academic scouting and research funding processes, translating leading science into drug discovery work plans and eliminate search costs for initial “pre-seed” work plan, are the major benefits of evotec BRIDGE.
From the first academic bridge started in 2016 with the University of Oxford (LAB282), in total four BRIDGEs are running, with slightly different modalities and formats but with the common aim to improve quality and speed of innovation for groundbreaking therapeutics.
This unique opportunity to connect with evotec BRIDGE with the aim to set a BRIDGE in the BioRN network, attracted a large audience, including representatives from global healthcare companies, technology transfer offices and research institutions in our network.
About BioRN
BioRN is a life science research and industry cluster dedicated to the development of cell-specific, molecular and personalised innovative treatments. The BioRN Cluster stands for the development, networking, representation and promotion of the life science region into one of the leading life science clusters in Europe.
The cluster-members include renowned academic research institutions such as the Universities of Heidelberg, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and big pharmaceutical companies such as AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Roche, und Sanofi-Aventis, and about 80 small and medium-sized biotech enterprises. Beyond the members registered in the cluster, BioRN gives access to a wider network via partnerships and collaborations.