In line with the Duke University School of Medicine research strategic plan, which identifies industry partnerships as a critical enabler to support faculty research, the School has formed a promising new partnership with global biotechnology company CSL Behring with the goal of accelerating research and identifying and commercializing new technologies.
The partnership came about as a result of work led by Adrian Hernandez, MD, vice dean of clinical research, who has been actively networking with industry leaders for the past year.
“As we go forward to accelerate translation of discovery to improve health, partnerships such as CSL Behring provides synergies that make this possible,” said Hernandez.
CSL Behring representatives visited campus in January 2019 and met with approximately 15 Duke researchers spanning several therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular and metabolism, hematology and thrombosis, immunology, neurology, and transplantation.
During their visit, they indicated a strong desire to work with Duke University to establish new collaborative partnerships to accelerate research. They invited Duke faculty to submit applications for up to $250,000 over a two-year period.
Duke researchers submitted brief proposals, and CSL reviewed those and invited select researchers to submit full proposals. CSL Behring will visit Duke in December to meet with the four teams that submitted full proposals and determine if they will receive funding.
“What I think is most exciting about the CSL Behring opportunity is that they are interested in establishing long-term relationships with Duke and our faculty,” said Lynn Sutton, assistant dean for clinical research initiatives and alliances in the Duke University School of Medicine. “We are continuing to work on establishing relationships and hope to have similar opportunities with other companies in the future.”