AbbVie has signed a new memorandum of understanding with Australian university joint venture BioCurate that is designed to accelerate the development of new medicines.
BioCurate is a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and Monash University. Its focus is on identifying biomedical research discoveries and managing their translation into high-quality pre-clinical therapeutic candidates.
Niels Emmerich, AbbVie vice president of search and evaluation, said, “An emphasis on collaboration is an important part of our approach to R&D. We look for opportunities to work with partners, like BioCurate, who share our goals for addressing serious health issues.
"We are committed to nurturing an ecosystem that enables movement of research ideas and inventions into investable ventures, in ways that will create a sustainable pipeline over time.”
Under the MoU, AbbVie and BioCurate could collaborate on projects of specific interest within the Australian company's portfolio. AbbVie will also provide scientific advice and a commercial perspective for projects within its therapeutic areas of focus - immunology, oncology, gastroenterology, virology, neuroscience, eye care, women’s health and aesthetics. This could be provided directly or via participation in BioCurate’s Industry and Scientific Advisory Committee.
Dr Glenn Begley, CEO of BioCurate, said, “BioCurate exists to drive the translation of promising research into new drug therapies by harnessing the knowledge and insights of our scientific community and collaborating with key partners along the development path. We are thrilled that AbbVie has joined our network of local and global industry partners with our mutual goal to advance promising early-stage discoveries of new human therapeutics.”
“Australia has had a long-standing reputation as a world leader in medical research, but unfortunately also one for being below average in commercialisation," said Chris Stemple, general manager of AbbVie Australia and New Zealand.
“At AbbVie, we bring people together because we know that collaboration is the key to breaking barriers and exploring new frontiers in science. This collaboration with BioCurate is an exciting example of a partnership that aims to increase the speed at which new treatments are made available to those who need them,” added Mr Stemple.