Spanish pharma company Almirall has set up an online open innovation platform through which it hopes to find skin health solutions.
Focusing on speeding up the development of new treatments for skin conditions, Almirall is looking to dermatology researchers around the world to post their solutions to challenges posted in sharedinnovation.almirall.com.
The site is underpinned by crowdsourcing technology company Innocentive, whose clients also include AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim, and current research calls cover preclinical models and high throughput systems for topical drug delivery
Chief scientific officer Dr Bhushan Hardas said: “Our R&D strategy is based on three important aspects: Science, innovation, and partnerships. We are convinced that there are plenty of breakthrough ideas and innovation outside our walls.
“With this in mind, we have created AlmirallShare, our open innovation platform, to help us identify and progress innovative solutions for skin health.”
The Barcelona-headquartered company is looking to work with scientists from universities, public or private research institutions, hospitals, and biotechnology companies.
Maribel Crespo, AlmirallShare leader, said: “AlmirallShare is about shared innovation. With this platform, we want to share our passion for science with experts worldwide to start a journey where cooperation will result in better solutions for skin health. We want to help move science forward.”
Almirall’s first call for research proposals concerns skin pathology in diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne and rosacea. After proposals are submitted, Almirall said its team would review them and then suggest the best way for the selected proposals to progress.
