Johnson & Johnson Innovation has announced the extension of its partnering office at Monash University's Clayton Campus (JJIPO@Monash) in Melbourne in collaboration with the Victorian government.
The company said the joint initiative will be extended for approximately two years to the end of June 2023. It said the agreement will allow the partnering office to continue connecting with the Victorian innovation ecosystem, nurturing and accelerating innovative research, new product development and commercialisation for a global market, as well as boost local job creation in that state.
"Our collaboration with Monash University represents Johnson & Johnson Innovation's ongoing commitment to foster diverse healthcare ecosystems across Australia. This extension will further help connect life-science innovators in Victoria to accelerate their healthcare solutions across the globe," said Stacy Feld, regional head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation for West North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Since 2012, Johnson & Johnson Innovation has played an active role in establishing connections with key stakeholders in the Australian life-science ecosystem, including academia, government and venture capitalists, to enable public-private collaboration and support early-stage entrepreneurs and academic researchers.
JJIPO@Monash was originally launched in 2018 to provide support to researchers and companies in the Victorian life-science sector as part of the government's commitment to the medical technologies and pharmaceuticals sector – one of eight priority growth sectors.
The public-private partnership between Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Monash University and the Victorian Government is one of only three such offices located across the world.
"Victoria has one of the world's largest life science clusters composed of medical technologies (medtech), biotechnologies and pharmaceutical industries. It's home to a vibrant commercial sector, key R&D infrastructure and advanced manufacturing expertise making it a highly sought-after destination by global healthcare companies," said Jaala Pulford, Victoria's innovation minister. "This is why we are delighted to extend our joint agreement with Johnson & Johnson Innovation to maintain the partnering office at Monash."
"This contract extension demonstrates the valuable work that is taking place at JJIPO@Monash," said Kathy Connell, the senior director of early innovation partnering for Janssen Australia & New Zealand. "Several high impact Victorian healthcare collaborations have been signed since our launch, including those novel medical technologies and treatments for neurodegenerative and autoimmune conditions, and solutions for significant unmet needs in global public health including maternal mortality and infectious diseases."
Monash University Ddputy vice-chancellor and senior vice-president (Enterprise & Governance), Professor Ken Sloan, said, "This partnership is helping to bridge the gap between academic research and industry application by driving cross-industry conversations, leading to project innovations and investment. I am excited to see what we will achieve in this new phase," said Professor Sloan.