Johnson & Johnson Opens Partnering Office in London

Johnson & Johnson Innovation, a division of Johnson & Johnson Finance, has established a partnering office at the UK-based bioscience campus Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst to support emerging entrepreneurs and biotech companies in the region. The move is part of the company’s strategy to establish innovation centers in key regional areas.

Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst is a bioscience community created to provide small biotech and life-sciences companies and start-ups with access to the expertise, networks, and scientific facilities traditionally associated with multinational pharmaceutical companies. Science and business experts from the London Innovation Center of Johnson & Johnson Innovation will have a regular presence at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst to interact with companies in residence.

“Our goal in placing four regional innovation centers in life science hotspots such as London is to integrate our science and business experts with innovators and entrepreneurs in these communities so that together we can support a strong biotech industry and advance promising healthcare solutions,” said Kurt Hertogs, incubator strategy leader for Johnson & Johnson Innovation in the London Innovation Center in a June 20, 2013, press release. “Collaboration within the unique incubator environment of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, which was created to provide small organizations access to the resources of larger pharmaceutical companies, is one of the steps we can take to help advance these goals.”

Johnson & Johnson announced in September 2012 its plans to open four innovation centers in California, Boston, London, and China, with the aim of accelerating early innovation and facilitating collaboration and investment opportunities. Each center serves as a regional hub, possess science and technology experts, and has local deal-making capabilities. The goal of the centers is to identify promising early-stage innovations and to establish collaborations to further explore their development potential for unmet medical needs.