Johnson & Johnson to launch JLABS center in Shanghai

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) today announced a collaborative deal with the Shanghai Municipal Government to launch a new J&J Innovation JLABS location in the region, touting it as the 1st JLABS location outside of North America.

The roughly 47,000 square-foot facility will be located in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park with room for up to 50 life science and healthcare startups including single entrepreneurs and larger companies. Johnson & Johnson said the JLABS location is slated to open in the second quarter of 2019.

“We are excited about the launch of JLABS @ Shanghai, which will be an integral investment in the city’s life science ecosystem. It will support entrepreneurship as it relates to science and technology and strengthen our position as a global innovation hub,” Shanghai Municipal Government Science & Technology Commission deputy inspector general Mr. Liu Qin said in a prepared statement.

“We are proud to collaborate with Johnson & Johnson Innovation for the opening of the first JLABS outside of North America. Through JLABS, we can drive innovation across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer healthcare and have a positive impact on the development of Pu Dong as an industrial leader and of Shanghai as an innovation hub for science and technology,” Pudong New Area Government Science & Technology and Economic Development Division deputy director Mr. Zhou Zhengyu said in prepared remarks.

The company said the Shanghai location will focus on innovations across the healthcare spectrum, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer products.

“We are thrilled to be part of the flourishing life sciences community in Shanghai and to contribute to China’s vision to help drive the Asia Pacific region toward becoming a world leader in healthcare innovation,” J&J chief scientific officer Dr. Paul Stoffels said in a press release.

Upon opening, the facilities will include modular and scalable lab space, equipment and access to J&J talent and mentors, the company said.

“We look forward to collaborating with the many enterprising innovators in the region who are working to turn science into tangible, commercial products of benefit to people, as part of our unique vision to empower entrepreneurs in an open innovation model,” J&J Innovation and JLABS global head Melinda Richter said in a prepared release.

“China, and Shanghai specifically, have become a global hotspot for healthcare innovation. JLABS @ Shanghai will join our Asia Pacific Innovation Center, Janssen China Discovery Labs, Emerging Markets Innovation Center, and other initiatives across our Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies’ China organization in creating a Shanghai-based hub that strengthens our ability to meet the rapidly evolving healthcare needs of people in China and around the world,” J&J China group chair Vladimir Makatsaria said in a prepared statement.

In May, Johnson & Johnson said it added 24 companies, including those in the medical device and drug delivery fields, to its JLABS incubator facility in Toronto, Canada.

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