Bayer invests in joint research lab for chronic lung diseases

Bayer has committed more than $30m over the next five years to support research projects on therapies for chronic lung diseases at a joint lab in the US.

Launch of the lab is in alliance with Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

Located at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the lab will house more than 20 people from all three partners. Scientists will leverage Bayer’s drug discovery and development capabilities.

Furthermore, the BWH and MGH’s clinical expertise will support the research, with awareness on disease mechanisms, data analysis expertise and insights from physician-scientists.

BWH Channing Division of Network Medicine chief Edwin Silverman, Bayer Lung Diseases preclinical research head Markus Koch, MGH Pulmonary and Critical Care chief Benjamin Medoff and BWH Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine chief Bruce Levy will lead the research projects.

Chronic lung diseases are a group of diseases that target airways and other lung structures.

Currently, Bayer is researching multiple lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, and obstructive sleep apnoea, as well as pulmonary arterial hypertension and persistent chronic cough.

The company’s lung franchise comprises products and compounds in different preclinical and clinical development stages.

Bayer research and development head Dr Joerg Moeller said: "This strategic collaboration complements our in-house research and will bring us closer to providing life-changing treatment options for patients living with chronic lung diseases.

"The joint lab concept continues to be an innovative model for collaboration between academia and industry, enabling novel approaches to drug discovery."

The lab is set to boost Bayer’s existing footprint in the Boston region, where the company is planning to open lab and office space to bolster its research and development activities.

Bayer opened its first joint lab in Boston last year in partnership with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, with focus on cardiovascular diseases.

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