Spinout News / UCLB News

Santen and University College London to collaborate on ophthalmic research and education

2 August 2016

Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Santen) and UCL (University College London) today announced that we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on ophthalmic research and education.

As part of the collaboration, Santen will conduct research programs with scientists in the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and provide PhD candidates with important funding support.

The collaboration provides a framework for both parties to work together on ophthalmic research, and translate the research into therapies that can meet unmet medical needs. The framework will also pave the way for both parties to collaborate on capability and talent development in various fields of ophthalmology.

The MoU was signed by Naveed Shams, Senior Corporate Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Global R&D of Santen, and Dr. Celia Caulcott, Vice-Provost (Enterprise) at UCL.

Basic and translational research for ophthalmic diseases is an important strategic target of Santen. We are very excited and honoured to partner with UCL, a world leader in ophthalmic research and education, to expand and deepen our ophthalmic R&D capabilities,” said Naveed Shams of Santen. “I believe that this partnership will facilitate our exploration activity to achieve our R&D strategic goals through the collaboration in clinical research, translational research and disease-targeted drug discovery. By leveraging this robust partnership, Santen will be continuously seeking innovative therapeutic opportunities and technology platforms that visualize and fulfil future unmet medical needs in the ophthalmology space.

UCL is delighted to sign this collaboration agreement with Santen, a world leading ophthalmic pharmaceutical company. This agreement underpins our relationship, which will help accelerate the translation of UCL’s world-class research into new medical treatments. It exemplifies UCL’s Grand Challenges strategy which looks to bring expertise from UCL and beyond together to solve global health problems,” said Dr. Celia Caulcott of UCL.

Cengiz Tarhan, Managing Director of UCLB commented “UCLB supported the strategic partnership between Santen and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. This brings together a world class academic research institute at UCL with a world leading ophthalmic pharmaceutical company who have the common aim of undertaking cutting edge research, accelerating the research into a translation programmes, with the ultimate aim of bringing new therapeutics to the market“.

About UCL (University College London)
UCL was founded in 1826. UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to open up university education to those previously excluded from it, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. It is among the world’s top universities, as reflected by performance in a range of international rankings and tables. UCL currently has over 35,000 students from 150 countries and over 11,000 staff. Our annual income is more than £1 billion.

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About Santen
As a specialty company dedicated to the ophthalmic field, Santen carries out research, development, sales, and marketing of pharmaceuticals. Santen is the market leader in Japan for prescription ophthalmic pharmaceuticals and sells products in over 50 countries. As a leading company in the field of ophthalmology, Santen aims to contribute to society by supplying valuable products and services to satisfy unmet medical needs.

For more details, please see Santen’s website: www.santen.com

Santen Forward-looking Statements
Information provided in this press release contains so-called “Forward-looking Statements”. The realizations of these forecasts are subject to risk and uncertainty from various sources. Therefore, please note that the actual results may differ significantly from the forecasts. Business performance and financial condition are subject to the effects of change in regulations made by the governments of Japan and other nations concerning medical insurance, drug pricing and other systems, and to fluctuations in market variables such as interest rates and foreign exchange.

About UCL Business PLC
UCL Business PLC (UCLB) is a leading technology transfer company that supports and commercialises research and innovations arising from UCL, one of the UK’s top research-led universities.  UCLB has a successful track record and a strong reputation for identifying and protecting promising new technologies and innovations from UCL academics. UCLB has a strong track record in commercialising medical technologies and provides technology transfer services to UCL’s associated hospitals; University College London Hospitals, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal Free London Hospital.  It invests directly in development projects to maximise the potential of the research and manages the commercialisation process of technologies from laboratory to market.

Contacts

UCL media contact:
Margaret-Anne Orgill, media relations manager
E-mail: m.orgill@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 7572 602345

Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Christopher Hohman, General Manager, Corporate Communications Group
E-mail: ir@santen.co.jp
Tel: +81-6-4802-9360