SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Janssen Research & Development, LLC, part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), today announced a collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), with the goal of inspiring data-driven approaches to improve health and develop the next generation of leaders in healthcare data sciences. This program will be the first of its kind in the San Francisco Bay Area, which serves as a hub of both tech and biotech industries and is home to two of the world’s top universities. The agreement was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation.
The parties will collaborate to create and establish a data science health innovation fellowship program, run by UCSF and UC Berkeley, working with product and platform teams within Janssen. The program will recruit serial cohorts of up to five outstanding data scientists from industry or academia to conduct innovative research in areas of unmet patient need. Fellows will have access to computer science, engineering, and statistics expertise and technology innovation at UC Berkeley and clinical expertise and data at UCSF, which they will use with other health and biological datasets to safely and respectfully conduct research projects over two years with mentorship from Janssen, UCSF and UC Berkeley.
Fellows will carry out their research at the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS) at UC Berkeley and the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute (BCHSI) at UCSF. Projects could include artificial intelligence-driven apps to inform patients about next steps in their treatment, or to give them early warning signs of disease, or new methods to manage and recruit participants for clinical trials. Such projects could ultimately lead to new companies that bridge the gap between growing healthcare datasets and meaningful insights.
“We’re at an inflection point where the health, technology and consumer industries are converging in new and potentially life-saving ways,” said Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head, Janssen Research & Development*. “This fellowship program aims to bring together data scientists, large biomedical datasets and expertise from both industry and academia to find innovative new ways of improving healthcare and bringing meaningful solutions to people in need.”
Contemporaneously with the agreement to create a data science health innovation fellowship program, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center LLC facilitated a broader arrangement that aims to foster a wide spectrum of sponsored research projects among UC Berkeley, UCSF, Janssen and Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices and Consumer companies.
“These agreements with UCSF and UC Berkeley exemplify our commitment to building a thriving network of collaborations that strengthen and leverage data science capabilities and advance compelling scientific research,” said Mammen. “We see major potential to unlock new disease insights, enhance the effective, efficient discovery of transformative medicines and ultimately deliver better health outcomes for patients around the world.”
For more information about the data science health innovation fellowship program, please see https://innovateforhealth.berkeley.edu
About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
At Janssen, we're creating a future where disease is a thing of the past. We're the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, working tirelessly to make that future a reality for patients everywhere by fighting sickness with science, improving access with ingenuity, and healing hopelessness with heart. We focus on areas of medicine where we can make the biggest difference: Cardiovascular & Metabolism, Immunology, Infectious Diseases & Vaccines, Neuroscience, Oncology, and Pulmonary Hypertension.
Janssen Research & Development, LLC is one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
About Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC focuses on accelerating all stages of innovation worldwide and forming collaborations between entrepreneurs and Johnson & Johnson’s global healthcare businesses. Johnson & Johnson Innovation provides scientists, entrepreneurs and emerging companies with one-stop access to science and technology experts who can facilitate collaborations across the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer companies of Johnson & Johnson. Under the Johnson & Johnson Innovation umbrella of businesses, we connect with innovators through our regional Innovation Centers; Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS; Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc.; and our business development teams to create customized deals and novel collaborations that speed development of innovations to solve unmet needs in patients. JLABS provides the laboratories, expertise, education, tools and resources needed to help life science startups thrive, all with no strings attached. A Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center for Device Innovation at the Texas Medical Center (CDI @ TMC) has been established to accelerate the development of medical devices. For more information about Johnson & Johnson Innovation, please visit: www.jnjinnovation.com.
*Mathai Mammen is employed by Johnson & Johnson.
Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding the collaboration with the University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC and/or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the potential that the expected benefits and opportunities related to the collaboration may not be realized or may take longer to realize than expected; challenges inherent in new product development, including the uncertainty of clinical success and obtaining regulatory approvals; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; uncertainty of commercial success for new products; the ability of the company to successfully execute strategic plans; impact of business combinations and divestitures; challenges to patents; changes in behavior and spending patterns or financial distress of purchasers of health care products and services; and global health care reforms and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2018, including in the sections captioned “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” in the company’s most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and the company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Neither the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC nor Johnson & Johnson undertake to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.
