Cancer researchers sign NZ-China joint venture
The new collaboration builds on existing cancer research in Auckland and Guangzhou.
The University of Auckland has signed this country’s first joint venture medical research deal with China to discover new drug treatments for lung cancer and other diseases.
The signing ceremony in Auckland today involves a delegation led by Professor Yaping Zhang, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The Joint Centre for Biomedicine is a collaboration between Auckland’s Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery and the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health.
It builds on the Strategic Research Alliance Joint Research Programme, established and funded by the government in 2013. This is jointly funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
University of Auckland vice-chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon says the joint venture will generate significant medical and economic benefits for both countries.
It also formally recognises the collaboration between Professor Ke Ding, of the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, and New Zealand researchers Dr Jeff Smaill and Associate Professor Adam Patterson, both of whom work at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre and the Maurice Wilkins Centre.
Dr Smaill leads a research group in drug development targeted toward treatments for lung cancer and Associate Professor Patterson's work has resulted in clinical trials for the treatment of lung cancer and head and neck cancer.
The university’s corporate arm, Auckland UniServices, will lead commercialisation of the new project, which includes a joint agreement on IP development.
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Nevil Gibson
Mon, 16 Nov 2015
Mon, 16 Nov 2015
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Cancer researchers sign NZ-China joint venture
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