16 July 2019
Paris & Melbourne, – Servier Australia, the subsidiary of Servier Group, an international pharmaceutical company, and BioCurate, a joint venture company of Monash University and The University of Melbourne with support from the Victorian State Government, have struck an agreement to share commercial and scientific expertise with the aim of accelerating the discovery of new therapeutics and drugs.
Servier and BioCurate will collaborate under the terms of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), whereby they will work together, both directly and via participation in BioCurate’s Industry and Scientific Advisory Committee, in providing advice and assessing new therapeutic candidates arising from BioCurate’s academic partners.
BioCurate was established with a specific focus on addressing the barriers that limit the translation and commercialisation of early stage research. With the aim of increasing the number of ‘investment-ready’ projects, BioCurate is committed to engaging closely and collaboratively with industry and other potential investors to ensure promising projects receive critical expert advice and assessment throughout the drug discovery process.
“BioCurate is very pleased to receive this further endorsement from industry and to be expanding our collaborative linkages with experts who are able to provide invaluable scientific advice, commercial insight and partnering opportunities to BioCurate and Australia’s wider medical research sector,” said Dr C. Glenn Begley, CEO of BioCurate.
Australia is a leading country in scientific research and development (R&D), with a strong reputation in invention and innovation in both medical research and improving healthcare. To capture the opportunities of prolific R&D ecosystems, such as Australia, and to further strengthen its pipeline, the Servier International Center of Therapeutic Research has actively engaged some of the best researchers worldwide.
“Collaboration with biotech companies, academia, institutes and government is a key cornerstone of our strategy to put the patient and innovation first,” highlighted Claude Bertrand, Executive Vice-President Research & Development at Servier.
Conducive to this broad-based collaboration is Australia’s ‘Parkville Precinct.’ This cluster of 30 world-class hospitals, research institutes, teaching and biotech organisations in Melbourne employs approximately 10,000 researchers, many of whom are the global leaders in their field. With its headquarters embedded within this precinct, BioCurate’s internationally-experienced team is well-placed to complement this thriving research ecosystem.
“BioCurate is very proud of the industry-experienced team it is building and making available to the local sector. This is unique in the Australian context. Our staff are solely focused on increasing the clinical impact from medical research and we are doing this by sharing our hands-on experience, knowledge and networks from working in industry both internationally and in Australia,” Dr Begley said.
Servier is one of the first pharmaceutical companies to sign an agreement with BioCurate to share expertise and accelerate discoveries of new drugs.
“We are excited by the opportunity to create synergies between Servier’s scientific expertise and capabilities and BioCurate’s know-how in improving the quality of early stage research for a successful translation into therapeutic solutions for the benefit of patients,” concluded Pedro Crisanto, Director Servier International Centre for Therapeutic Research Australia & New Zealand. “Australia has ranked 5th in the Scientific American Worldwide scorecard 3 years running. Alongside BioCurate, Servier aims to translate this exciting science into improved health outcomes for patients around the world.”
Media contacts
Servier
Sonia Marques – sonia.marques@servier.com – Tel. +33 (0)1 55 72 40 21 / + 33 (0) 7 84 28 76 13
BioCurate
Linda Peterson – l.peterson@biocurate.com – Tel: +61 419 320 435
