Boehringer Ingelheim to partner in MIT centre

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals has joined firms such as AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Novartis as a founding sponsor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Centre for Biomedical Innovation.

The Boehringer subsidiary is the largest US division of the Boehringer corporation and the executive director of the MIT centre welcomed the backing and involvement of the pharmaceutical organisation.

“We are pleased to welcome Boehringer Ingelheim to the growing list of partners in our unique enterprise,” said Dr Frank Douglas.

“No other academic centre anywhere seeks to bring about a systemic change that works across the entire biomedical value chain, seeking to transform healthcare innovation and delivery worldwide.”

The CBI sees itself as a “think-and-do-tank”, with the aim of “transforming” healthcare innovation and delivery worldwide.

Participatory membership in the centre costs firms $50,000 a year, with a three-year term the standard. This allows the companies involved participation in one research project.

Core membership, again offered over a three-year term, costs firms $200,000 a year. This allows them involvement in three research projects, a seat on the strategy and policy council, as well as a number of other benefits.