COLLABORATION. The collaboration between Sahlgrenska Academy, Region Västra Götaland and the health and medical care company MSD is now beginning to take on a more concrete form. Recently, the first Steering Committee meeting was held, and it became apparent that many researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy may get involved in the collaboration, with this global company.
The three parties MSD, Sahlgrenska Academy and Region Västra Götaland entered into a collaboration agreement in February. The Steering Committee that formalizes the collaboration has now held its statutory meeting. Sahlgrenska Academy’s representatives are Maria Anvret, Professor and the management team’s senior adviser for the collaboration, and Henrik Hagberg, Professor at the Institute for Clinical Sciences and a member of Hälsosam
“It was clear that all three parties have common interests within a wide range of areas that will pave the way for many researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy to collaborate with MSD,” says Henrik Hagberg.
Co-financing of the common projects will be discussed by the Steering Committee. The collaboration agreement cites common doctoral or post-doctoral projects as a possibility. Some highly relevant, current areas for collaboration include Alzheimer’s disease, coronary artery disease, cancer, emergency medicine, vaccines and hepatitis.
“These are broad areas, where both Sahlgrenska Academy and Region Västra Götaland have the highest level of active research. However, MSD is also interested in collaborating in areas that are not currently part of their profile, but that may be in the future,” says Maria Anvret.
An engine for clinical research
MSD is extremely active in Swedish clinical research and accounts for one fourth of all patients in company run clinical studies in Sweden. In their collaboration with Sahlgrenska Academy and Region Västra Götaland, the company is also open to collaboration on more preclinical projects, where it may be many years before the results can be practically applied.
“MSD has recently begun to work on developing new types of antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is a serious clinical problem and an area where the University has recently made investments via UGOT Challenges. There, we could also contribute expertize,” says Henrik Hagberg.
MSD places great importance on the new collaboration agreement with Sahlgrenska Academy and Region Västra Götaland, as was stressed by Jacob Tellgren, CEO of MSD Sweden, who participated in the organizational Steering Committee meeting.
Attractive partner
“We are very open to seeking supplementary collaborative work with other companies, something that MSD views as highly positive and sees as a strength. That we have several collaborations confirms their view that we are an attractive collaboration partner,” Maria Anvret said.
Michael Uddmark, a commercial lawyer from the Research and Innovation Office, will also be part of the Steering Committee, as a representative of the University of Gothenburg.
MSD Sverige is a leading global health and medical care company. The Swedish office lies in the Life Science cluster Stockholm Life, but they are active throughout the country. In the USA and Canada, the company is known as Merck & Co., Inc. The company is represented in over 140 countries.
Contact
If you would like to discuss a project that may be ready for collaboration, please contact Henrik Hagberg by telephone at: 0705-505773 or 031-343 4140, or Maria Anvret by telephone at: 0721-879121 or 031-786 3576.
If you have a completed proposal, you can send it to Niclas Lundh, niclas.lundh@sahlgrenska.gu.se .
TEXT: ELIN LINDSTRÖM CLAESSEN
