Johnson and Johnson to establish innovation centres

Johnson and Johnson has announced plans to establish a series of innovation centres in major life science communities across the world.

The company will be setting up sites in London, California, Boston and China as part of an overall strategy to accelerate innovation efforts and enhance opportunities for collaboration and investment in its healthcare operations.

Each centre will house science and technology experts and will possess local deal-making capabilities, providing potential partners with one-stop access to a wide range of expertise.

Johnson and Johnson's pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics, and consumer companies will all benefit from this project.

Dr Paul Stoffels, worldwide chairman of pharmaceuticals at Johnson and Johnson, said this scheme will allow the company "to be closer to where the innovation occurs, to access and invest in the best early-stage science and technology, and to fuel our business as well as the health of the innovation ecosystem overall".

This comes after the firm recently announced the appointment of Sandra Peterson as its new group worldwide chairman and member of the executive committee.