Two days earlier, the Weizmann Institute also announced a collaboration between its application company and Johnson & Johnson
A new collaboration between industry and academia. After we reported yesterday on the agreement between Johnson & Johnson and the Weizmann Institute, it turns out that this is not the only agreement the company has with a respected academic institution in Israel. A research fund for innovative science was founded at the Hebrew University thanks to a joint initiative of Johnson & Johnson, the R&D Authority and the Hebrew University's R&D Implementation Company. The university and an implementation company will match an amount equal to Johnson & Johnson's contribution.
The research fund is designed to identify and encourage innovative ideas among scientists at the Hebrew University. The fund will focus on proposals that may become scientific breakthroughs and have commercial potential. The research proposals will be determined by a committee whose members will be chosen by the three bodies that established the fund.
The Science Research Fund will be launched at a conference that will be held on Thursday, February 09 at the Hebrew University's R&D Authority at the Edmond Y. Safra campus in Givat Ram. The event will be attended by senior representatives of the Johnson & Johnson company, representatives of the R&D application company, senior academic staff of the university, including the deans of the faculties of medicine, mathematics and natural sciences and agriculture.
Prof. Hillel Berkoviar, Vice President for R&D at the Hebrew University will give an overview of research currently being conducted at the university, including the research being conducted at the Center for Converging Sciences, and of research proposals submitted to the Foundation; Prof. Hermona Sorek, Prof. Haim Sider and other senior researchers from the university will present the latest breakthroughs in the field of cancer research, degenerative neurological diseases and bionanotechnology.
Yeda" and "Johnson & Johnson" will cooperate in funding scientific research at the Weizmann Institute of Science
6.2.2006
The "Knowledge" company of the Weizmann Institute of Science, which promotes industrial applications based on the inventions of the institute's scientists, announced that it has established a joint fund with the pharmaceutical company "Johnson & Johnson" to finance scientific research by scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The foundation will award research grants totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars to institute scientists who conduct research in the fields of life sciences, medical aspects of nanotechnology, and the development of medical devices.
The partnership in the new fund will expose "Johnson & Johnson" to the first stages of the scientific research carried out at the Weizmann Institute, and to the trends that are developing in real time. "We welcome the cooperation with 'Johnson & Johnson', which is one of the largest pharmaceutical and medical device companies in the world," says the CEO of the "Yade" company, Dr. Yitzhak (Tzachi) Shariv. "We believe that the establishment of the joint fund will lead to the expansion of ties between the company and the State of Israel, to the benefit of all parties."
The director of the business development department at Yedah, Dr. Einat Zissman: "The announcement of the establishment of the fund has already led to the submission of several proposals to finance original and exciting multidisciplinary research. We have no doubt that the establishment of the joint fund with a pharmaceutical giant like "Johnson & Johnson" will encourage the development of innovative research directions at the Weizmann Institute and lead to the creation of new intellectual property.
Dr. Johnny Catalano-Sherman, Corporate Director for Johnson & Johnson Corporate Office of Science & Technology in Israel:
"We are committed to supporting research at the world's leading universities, and are happy about the cooperation with "Yade" and the Weizmann Institute of Science, which will allow us to finance innovative research in the field of biomedicine. We are sure that the joint support of the world's leading research institutions will encourage scientific breakthroughs that will contribute in the future to improving the quality of life of patients."
