Boehringer Ingelheim and the University of Pécs have signed a cooperation agreement under which the market-leading biopharmaceutical company and Hungary's first university will conduct joint research in the fields of chronic kidney, heart and metabolic diseases, among others. The agreement was signed by Yael Dassa Levinsky, CEO of the company, Dr. Attila Miseta, Rector of the University of Pécs and Dr. András Fittler, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Pécs on 15 November in the Senate Council Hall of the University.
Boehringer Ingelheim is working on breakthrough therapies that will transform lives for current and future generations. The company is a market leader in research areas focusing on cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases (CRM), oncology, respiratory diseases, immunology, mental health and retinal health, where there is a high unmet patient need.
The aim of the new collaboration with PTE is for the company and the university to
mutually support each other's innovation and education activities, as well as collaborate on clinical trial programmes.
In the latter area, the two companies will work together on research into chronic kidney, heart and metabolic diseases, with the aim of developing more effective treatments and therapies.
Dr. Attila Miseta, Rector of the PTE pointed out that ageing societies pose new challenges for medicine: "We live with more and more chronic diseases after a certain age, which require constant attention and treatment. These include chronic kidney disease, heart disease and liver disease."
He stressed that the current collaboration between the university and the biopharmaceutical company covers a number of areas, which will help our institutions to keep pace with technological changes in the age of digitalisation and artificial intelligence. "We live in a fast-paced world, so it is crucial that we have the information and opportunities to keep pace with today's rapid developments, both in medicine and in the training of our staff and students, " said Dr Attila Miseta.
In addition to the above, the cooperation will include training, development of diagnostic methods and support for the transfer of practical educational skills to university students in the field of pharmaceutical manufacturing and safe use of medicines.
The agreement also
aims at joint research and development of data-driven healthcare and artificial intelligence solutions, as well as collaboration in clinical trial programmes.
Yael Dassa Levinsky, CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim, briefly introduced the company to the attendees, saying that Boehringer Ingelheim operates 146 subsidiaries worldwide and employs more than 53,500 people in over 130 countries worldwide.
Unlike most large listed pharmaceutical companies, this company, founded in 1885, is privately owned wholly by the Boehringer, Liebrecht and von Baumbach families. The Hungarian subsidiary has been marketing the company's pharmaceuticals and veterinary products under the name Boehringer Ingelheim Hungary for 34 years. PTE is the first Hungarian university with which the company has entered into a formal cooperation.
"Through this collaboration, we want to build a research team and a pool of bright minds with academic expertise to better serve our patients and to address unmet needs that we can address through our research work, " said Yael Dassa Levinsky, explaining why this agreement is so important to them.
