King's College London and AstraZeneca sign Shanghai MOU to drive global life sciences collaboration

King's College London, AstraZeneca, the University of Glasgow, HSBC and the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality have entered a memorandum of understanding to pool research, clinical and commercial expertise in pursuit of healthcare innovations with the potential to improve patient outcomes worldwide.

According to King's College London, the partnership will focus on gene and cell therapy, synthetic biology and medical AI, with the UK university partners exploring how to connect with Shanghai's clinical and research networks to foster translational opportunities. AstraZeneca and HSBC will use their respective networks to support the growth and international scaling of promising Shanghai-based life sciences start-ups and scale-ups.

AstraZeneca Head of Discovery Sciences Steve Rees said collaborative structures accelerate the pace of innovation. "Working in collaboration benefits everyone as we accelerate research and the delivery of innovation with the common goal of advancing global public health. This collaboration brings together leaders in research, innovation and industry to help transform healthcare and deliver potentially life-changing medicines."

Professor Carl Goodyear, Professor of Translational Immunology at the University of Glasgow, said patient need remains the guiding principle. "We are delighted to join this collaboration, which promises to ensure the focus of innovation remains on the needs of patients around the world. Researchers at the University of Glasgow will bring world-class clinical and translational skills to the partnership."

Will Longhurst, Head of Global Network Banking at HSBC Innovation Banking, said the collaboration aligns with the bank's longstanding commitment to supporting entrepreneurial ambition. "Supporting entrepreneurs has been at the heart of HSBC for more than 160 years, and we are proud to support the next generation of founders with their global ambitions."

For the full details of the MOU and the partnership's strategic objectives.