Johnson & Johnson Innovation, London, has formed a network of partnering offices across U.K. life science clusters. The offices function as extensions of its London Innovation Center, to work with academics and entrepreneurs throughout the U.K. to identify early stage innovation and support the translation of research into new products for patients.

While the London Innovation Center continues to be the primary hub for interactions with the academic and entrepreneurial communities in the greater London area, these new partnering offices are part of a broader strategy to interact more directly with life science “hotspots” throughout the U.K. and Europe.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation is establishing partnering offices in the Babraham Research Campus for the wider Cambridge area, at the University of Oxford Old Road Campus for the wider Oxford area, at the University of Manchester Innovation Center (UMIC) for the North and Midlands, in the Edinburgh BioQuarter for Scotland and Northern Ireland and at the Life Sciences Hub Wales in Cardiff for Wales and the South West.

“Opening these new partnering offices extends the approach we piloted with Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC) earlier this year,” said Dr. Kurt Hertogs, incubator strategy leader for Johnson & Johnson Innovation, London. “Our continuing experience with SBC confirms this model as an effective way for our scientific teams to interact with innovators and entrepreneurs, and advance promising healthcare solutions. Given the number and diversity of research campuses, incubators and life science parks throughout the U.K. and Europe, we believe the establishing of these regional partnering offices will enable us to reach out and more effectively collaborate with innovators across the U.K. and Europe.”

The offices are expected to be fully operational in early 2014.