J&J’s public-private partnership to advance research and innovation in the Asia Pacific region

MedTech News: The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Johnson & Johnson Vision, a part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech, to jointly establish an Eye Health Digital Innovation Consortium. Hosted at A*STAR’s Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), the consortium focuses on advancing eye health research in the region.

A joint investment of SGD 15 million from both organisations will be channelled into the consortium over the course of three years.

As the first of its kind in APAC, the consortium will forge strategic public-private partnerships in the eye health space between ophthalmologists, academia, and the industry, to bring about innovations that will address pressing eye health needs. Through this consortium, stakeholders will be able to jointly identify and prioritise these needs, to accelerate research and innovation outcomes in the field.

These initiatives leverage data-centric research and innovative technologies such as block chain, artificial intelligence (AI), data privacy preservation techniques, and personal data compliance, to create trusted data access and sharing relationships between patients, ECPs, researchers, clinical practitioners and public health policy makers.

These projects aim to deliver comprehensive solutions to change the trajectory of eye health in the APAC region and cement Singapore’s position as a Centre of Excellence in APAC for eye health care, research and innovation.

“Infusing our high science with greater access to eye health data is critical as we work to shape the standard of care, particularly for APAC’s continued battle with the rise of myopia. The wealth of knowledge that will be exchanged through this consortium will greatly enhance how we innovate bold solutions to improve healthy sight across APAC, and even more broadly,” said Peter Menziuso, Company Group Chairman, Johnson & Johnson Vision.

“As a global leader in eye health, Johnson & Johnson Vision prioritises collaboration and working closely with stakeholders to deliver impact to the communities we operate in. This consortium has an exciting opportunity to drive digital solution platforms in the prevention and management of myopia and other eye diseases. These will help to enhance the eye health ecosystem that we are building,” said Vaibhav Saran, Area Vice President, APAC, Vision Care, Johnson & Johnson Vision.

“There is a high prevalence of eye disorders among Singapore’s population, and this is a cause for concern. Open innovation and public-private partnerships will pave the way for us to leverage strengths from different parties, and develop solutions to address this complex healthcare challenge. We look forward to a deeper partnership with Johnson & Johnson Vision, to co-create innovative eye care solutions for patients in Singapore and beyond,” said Professor Tan Sze Wee, Assistant Chief Executive, Enterprise, A*STAR.

“IHPC is excited to partner Johnson & Johnson Vision in establishing the Eye Health Digital Innovation Consortium to advance eye health research in the region and improve general eye health care. IHPC will contribute expertise in blockchain and trust technologies to develop privacy-preserving data sharing solutions and computational behavioural modelling and AI to address public eye health concerns. We look forward to working closely with the ecosystem to create new value in translating eye health research technologies into digital solutions to benefit patients and open new business opportunities,” said Dr Su Yi, Executive Director, IHPC.