Janssen announces two new Disease Interception Accelerator partnerships

Janssen has announced a pair of new research collaborations aimed at finding new ways of intercepting diseases prior to their onset.

The two agreements have been established through the company's Disease Interception Accelerator, a dedicated research unit focused on the prediction and preemption of medical conditions.

Janssen will work with Boston University School of Medicine to identify disease pathways associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, while partnering with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore to determine biomarkers in gestational diabetes mellitus.

These represent the most recent of 24 collaborations the Disease Interception Accelerator has initiated since its inception in February 2015.

Dr Ben Wiegand, head of the Disease Interception Accelerator at Janssen Research and Development, said: "We are excited about the tremendous progress in implementing our venture strategies during our first year of operation, focusing on disease areas with high unmet need and unique interception opportunities."

Other projects initiated by the unit include research efforts in the fields of type 1 diabetes, presbyopia/cataracts, oral cavity, oropharyngeal cancer, cervical cancer and perinatal depression.