AstraZeneca enters “open innovation” research accord with Taiwan’s NRPB

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) has linked with Taiwan’s National Research Program for Biopharmaceuticals (NRPB) on a collaborative program to support academic research proposals using ‘open innovation’ as a catalyst for drug discovery.

The program will connect expert physicians and scientists with a wide range of high-quality, small molecule compounds and biologics developed by AstraZeneca.

Successful research proposals submitted from academic institutes in Taiwan will be funded by the NRPB to explore new therapeutic uses for specific AstraZeneca compounds which may in turn lead to the development of novel therapies for patients. Further financial details were not disclosed. Areas of high interest include cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, inflammation, autoimmune, oncology, infection and neuroscience diseases.