Philips, Chinese Institute to Create Center for Biomolecular Medicine...

Philips, Chinese Institute to Create Center for Biomolecular Medicine; PGx to Play Role

Royal Philips Electronics and a Chinese biological institute today said they intend to create a joint research laboratory in Shanghai to study molecular medicine, "in particular" pharmacogenomics.

So far, Philips and the Institute of Health Sciences have signed a memorandum of understanding to create the facility. The partners said the goal is to create "new solutions for the early diagnosis of disease and for monitoring the effectiveness of subsequent treatment."

 

"In particular," the center will perform biomarker discovery and test development for in vitro diagnostic testing, the partners said in a statement.

 

The collaboration will give the IHS access to Philips' global research organization, "especially the European laboratories, and should serve as a good example for further European collaborations," Rongxing Gan, vice president of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, to which the HIS belongs, said in the statement.

 

"The combination of our expertise in translational biomedical research and Philips' expertise in advanced medical instrumentation will definitely accelerate the development of new healthcare solutions for the Chinese people as well as people around the world."

 

For the IHS alliance, Philips intends to locate a team of its own scientists at the joint research laboratory. The IHS is affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

 

The companies did not disclose a timeline for the creation of the institute. Financial details were also not disclosed.

 

Philips has already laid the groundwork for this kind of research by creating a life-sciences facility at its High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. In May, Philips and Dutch drug maker Organon said they plan to use the campus to perform biomarker studies that could benefit Philips’ imaging programs and Organon's drug-development efforts.

 

Source from GenomeWeb Daily News