The universities of Birmingham, Dundee, Edinburgh and Nottingham have joined forces with drug discovery and development company Evotec and pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb to launch BeLab1407.

Equipped with $20m, BeLab1407 is the latest addition to Evotec’s international network of early-stage academic collaborations under the Bridge umbrella, and will focus on drug discovery.

Bridge was launched in 2016 through Lab282 at University of Oxford, with $16m of capital. The institution subsequently added Lab10x in 2019 to focus on digital therapeutics and data-driven drug discovery.

Adam Stoten, chief operating officer at tech transfer office Oxford University Innovation, spearheaded the initiative and last month revealed exclusively to GUV he was joining Evotec to expand the roster of partnerships further.

Rupert Vessey, Bristol Myers Squibb’s president of research and early development, said: “This collaboration builds on our important connection to leading European universities. With beLAB1407, we are supporting UK-based universities that are exploring many interesting lines of scientific research and discovery.

“That research combined with Evotec’s proprietary data platforms has the potential to identify new and novel therapies for areas of unmet medical need.”

The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.

The universities of Birmingham, Dundee, Edinburgh and Nottingham have joined forces with drug discovery firm Evotec and pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb to launch BeLab1407.
Equipped with $20m, BeLab1407 is the latest addition to Evotec’s international network of early-stage academic collaborations called Bridge – an acronym for Biomedical Research, Innovation and Development Generation Efficiency. It will focus on drug discovery.
Bridge was launched in 2016 through Lab282 at University of Oxford, with $16m of capital. The institution subsequently added Lab10x in 2019 to focus on digital therapeutics and data-driven drug discovery.
Adam Stoten, chief operating officer at tech transfer office Oxford University Innovation, spearheaded the initiative and last month revealed exclusively to GUV he was joining Evotec to expand the roster of partnerships further.
Existing partners also include Harvard University, Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
George Baxter, chief executive of Edinburgh Innovations, said: “This innovative collaboration represents the best of academic and industry collaboration. We are delighted to be playing our part in such a high calibre project supporting early-stage research become reality.
“University of Edinburgh already has an impressive track record of drug discovery supported by our world class facilities. This innovative approach gives us even more opportunity to make our ideas work for a better world.”
BeLab1407 refers to the distance in kilometres, if travelled by bike, between Land’s End – the most westerly point of England – and Great Britain’s northeastern-most point in Scotland.