A network approach to innovation

Johnson & Johnson is fostering a collaborative approach to tap into the best science and technology

In a interview with China Daily, Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer and chairman of pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson, talked about the company's strategy on innovation, globally and domestically. The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson are named after Dr Paul Janssen, a leading Belgian researcher, pharmacologist and general practitioner.

Johnson & Johnson has made a major commitment to collaboration to advance innovation. How does the approach work for the company locally and globally?

Our vision is to positively impact human health through innovation. We are committed to fostering a networked approach to innovation because it enables us to tap into the best science and technology, no matter where it is, to solve the greatest unmet needs of our time.

Our approach is to source the best external innovation and invest in highly differentiated early-stage innovations that will turn into products that extend and improve lives everywhere. We also seek to nurture the global innovation ecosystem to ensure its continued vibrancy.

What is the J&J approach to networked innovation?

Our innovation centers are the cornerstone of our approach to networked innovation. They are located in key innovation hotspots around the world including Boston, California, London and the Asia-Pacific.

The innovation centers were created to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and scientists developing medical devices and diagnostic technologies, consumer healthcare products and pharmaceuticals. Through them, there is robust exchange of and support for new ideas, which is critical to advancing important products.

How are the J&J innovation centers structured?

Each of our innovation centers houses a fully integrated team of scientific and business experts and flexible deal-making capabilities to meet the needs of any company.

We invest at very early stages of innovation all the way up to and including proof-of-concept objectives, such as early-stage research funding, seed funding, equity investments, licensing and collaborations.

Also, through our innovation centers, our scientists, technology experts, clinical researchers and other professionals work with our collaborators to provide a broad range of R&D support across our therapeutic areas of focus from discovery and early development through clinical trial design and regulatory strategy.

What are your plans for growth in the Asia-Pacific region?

Ongoing industry-wide and government investment in the Asia-Pacific region, coupled with support from companies like Johnson & Johnson, will attract and nurture the best in science and technology from the region. Together we can help advance innovation, address unmet health needs and create unparalleled new value that helps to grow the economy.

We recently launched our Asia-Pacific Innovation Center in Shanghai and have done a number of deals throughout the region, including in China.

We entered into a broad collaboration with Wuxi App Tec to source and advance transformational new healthcare products by providing resources and capabilities, such as talent, facilities and funding, to set up asset-centric development companies.

Product candidates will be sourced globally and developed in China for the global market. We also have a number of R&D collaborations with academic organizations, including China Pharmaceutical University, Peking University and Zhejiang University. These collaborations focus on advancing new science in areas of focus for J&J such as central nervous system, oncology and consumer healthcare.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/24/2015 page6)