Bayer and Peking University Renew Strategic Collaboration for the Fourth Time to Advance Translational Research and Innovative Drug Development in China
Recently,Bayer and Peking University Sign Fourth-Phase Strategic Cooperation Agreement to Further Facilitate the Translation of Basic Research Findings into New Drug Development Across Key Therapeutic Areas, Including Oncology, Cardiovascular and Renal Diseases, Immunology, and Cell and Gene Therapyand accelerate the advancement of cutting-edge technologies across the drug R&D value chain.
Under the agreement, Bayer will continue to fund the joint research and development projects over the next three years and reward scientists at Peking University who have made outstanding scientific contributions in the fields of life sciences and drug innovation.
Bayer and Peking University recently signed a joint agreement
“Bayer-Peking University Phase IV Strategic Cooperation Agreement”
In 2014, Bayer established a strategic scientific research partnership with Peking University, setting up a Joint Research Center at the university dedicated to advancing translational research in drug discovery, with Bayer providing funding for collaborative R&D projects. The agreement was renewed in 2017 and 2020, respectively. The signing of the latest agreement marks the entry of the strategic partnership into its fourth phase.
Dr. Friedemann Janus, Acting Head of Global Business Development and Open Innovation at Bayer Pharmaceuticals Division, stated, “We are delighted to see the long-standing and successful collaboration between Bayer and Peking University enter a new chapter. Although the COVID-19 pandemic posed numerous challenges to our partnership over the past three years, both teams have maintained close cooperation and academic exchanges, actively advancing scientific research and drug innovation. The renewal of this collaboration underscores Bayer’s high regard for and continued commitment to China’s burgeoning technological breakthroughs and innovative achievements. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Peking University to explore more open innovation models, translating groundbreaking scientific results into more innovative therapeutic drugs for the benefit of patients worldwide.”
Professor Wu Hong, Chair Professor at Peking University and Senior Fellow at the PKU-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, stated, “As a leading academic institution, Peking University has been actively integrating internal and external resources, shouldering the era’s responsibility for technological innovation through discipline development and talent cultivation. Since 2014, leveraging its strengths, Peking University has engaged in a series of innovative research collaborations with Bayer, yielding fruitful results. We hope both parties will continue to work hand in hand to advance life sciences and medical technologies under the shared goal of promoting human health, achieving a win-win outcome for academia and industry, and ultimately benefiting patients in China and worldwide.”
Over the past nine years, Bayer and Peking University have jointly conducted 26 collaborative research projects and published seven co-authored papers in internationally renowned academic journals. Among the latest collaborative achievements is the paper titled “Parallel single-cell and bulk transcriptome analyses reveal key features of the gastric cancer tumor microenvironment,” published in the SCI-indexed journal Genome Biology in December 2022. This work stems from the joint research efforts of Dr. Helge G. Roider, an expert at Bayer, and Professor Zhang Zemin of Peking University.
Furthermore, to encourage and recognize scholars who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of life sciences and drug development, Bayer and Peking University jointly established the “Bayer Chair Professor,” “Bayer Fellow,” and “Bayer Postdoctoral Fellow” awards. Distinguished Peking University scholars, including Professors Gao Ning, Xie Xiaoliang, Yu Xiang, Ge Feng, and Chen Xuemei, have been honored with the title of “Bayer Chair Professor.”
As a key component of its long-term commitment to China, Bayer places high importance on and continuously focuses on local scientific research collaboration, vigorously supporting source innovation and the translation of new drug R&D in China. The company established long-term strategic scientific research partnerships with Tsinghua University in 2009 and Peking University in 2014, respectively. As of June 2023, Bayer had cumulatively launched 99 joint research projects with these two top Chinese universities, covering areas such as the discovery and structural elucidation of new targets, research into disease pathogenesis and mechanisms of drug action, drug screening, efficacy evaluation, and the exploration of novel molecular entities, new chemical synthesis methods, and innovative dosage forms.