Tsinghua University and Biogen Inc. announced a three-year strategic collaboration with a goal to advance scientific research and development in neuroscience and specialized immunology. The academic collaboration is Biogen’s first in China, and aims to combine the company’s longstanding leadership in this space with Tsinghua’s world-class talent in order to expand access to innovations from the country’s growing scientific ecosystem.

“We look forward to collaborating with innovative pharmaceutical companies such as Biogen, to facilitate the communication of scientists on both sides, and accelerate clinical translation of our scientific findings,”said Professor Wang Hongwei, Vice President of Tsinghua University.

“Biogen is an industrial leader in drug discovery and development in neuroscience and specialized immunology,” said Professor Feng Qian, the Dean of School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPS), Tsinghua University. “Tsinghua has been developing comprehensive basic research expertise in these areas, while translational research and industrial collaboration are strategically critical for the future of SPS. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration with Biogen, which could result in deepened scientific understanding, advanced technologies, and high quality translational opportunities.”

“We are proud to collaborate with Tsinghua, regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in the world, to explore new research and scientific innovations in the fields of neuroscience and specialized immunology,” said Priya Singhal, Interim Head of R&D at Biogen. “This collaboration allows us to leverage Tsinghua’s strengths in the pharmaceutical science, basic medical research, life sciences and related research areas, and to explore new projects that could advance the scientific field.”

“China is an important strategic market for Biogen and this scientific collaboration is a key pillar of our presence in the country,” said Francis Wan, Head of Asia-Pacific at Biogen. “We look forward to working with researchers at Tsinghua as part of our mission to address unmet medical needs for people living with neurological and immunological diseases.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Biogen will provide support to selected projects at Tsinghua University for up to three years and, together, the organizations will collaborate to research, discover and potentially develop innovative technologies that may be applied in neuroscience and specialized immunology.

Editor: Li Han