Pfizer, AstraZeneca Selected To Establish New Innovation Lab
By NoCamels Team
December 30, 2020
2 minutes
The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and the National Digital Ministry have selected pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Merck, and Teva to establish an Innovation Lab in order to research digital health and computational biology. The group will establish the lab at Rehovot Science Park.
The companies will join the Israel Biotech Fund and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to “assist early-stage entrepreneurs and startups to meet the challenges of the healthcare industry,” an IIA announcement said.
The lab is scheduled to open in 2021 and will join existing innovation labs as part of the Israel Innovation Authority’s Innovation Lab Program. It was awarded a government budget of NIS 32 million ($9.9 million), as well as additional financing from the winning group’s partners. The group was awarded a five-year operational franchise, and the IIA and National Digital Ministry will finance 85 percent of a total NIS 3 million budget for each startup that joins the lab. The Innovation Authority and National Digital Ministry will also participate in the operating costs and in setting up the lab’s infrastructure.