Bayer Consumer Health launch microbiome research call for academics through IN-PART
Communications and Content Officer
Bayer Consumer Health has launched a microbiome research call for academics through IN-PART’s Discover platform to accelerate innovation for consumer care products in dermatology, digestive health and respiratory health. They are expanding their global academic network and collaborating with cutting-edge microbiome research to bring new treatments to patients quicker than before.
Why is Bayer interested in the microbiome and what are they doing?
Researchers believe that developing treatments that address microbiome imbalances will also lead to the treatment of related illnesses. Companies such as Bayer Consumer Health are working to better understand the microbiome. This is in order to develop more effective disease diagnostics, to create preventative treatments for people more susceptible to diseases due to their microbiome composition, and to care for patients who are already experiencing illness.
Bayer Consumer Health is searching for microbiome-targeted solutions for upper respiratory conditions, tailored nutritional products for everyday health, personalised products to modulate the gut microbiome and ways to model the skin microbiome interactions and deliver live probiotics in topical formats. They are actively searching for academic partners working in these areas to help develop new products to help patients and offer alternative treatments.
Why are academic/industry collaborations important?
University-industry collaborations have had a great impact on our world. Novel inventions and discoveries that have been developed in this way include CRISPR-Cas-9, monoclonal antibodies, graphene, and the internet.
Increasingly, industry are looking to academia for early-stage research to invest in. As well as the societal impact that knowledge exchange and collaboration can have, there are also benefits to academic researchers such as access to expensive equipment and an better understanding of what research and subsequent products will be most useful for society.
Finding suitable partners for collaboration can be difficult as there are many pathways to industry funding. IN-PART is dedicated to making finding the perfect partner easier for both academic institutes and companies. Our Discover platform is run by STEM experts working on behalf of companies looking for answers to a specific research question. If you are working on biome-targeted research apply to Bayer Consumer Health’s Discover campaign to be considered for their ‘Partnering with us’ scheme.
What is the microbiome and why is it important
There are over 10 times as many microbial cells in the human body as there are human cells. These cells make up the human microbiome, communities of microbes, including bacteria and fungi that have greater complexity than the human genome itself. The microbiome can found in multiple sites across the human body for example, the gut, skin, and oral and nasal cavities which all have a different community of microbes.
As the key interface between the body and the environment, the human microbiome has extensive functions to protect us against pathogens, develop immunity and aid in digestion and metabolism.
The microbiome is dynamic, changing throughout human life (the most dramatic changes in composition occur in infancy and early childhood) and is influenced by environmental factors such as diet and use of antibiotics and especially in response to disease, making each person’s microbiome unique. These disruptions to the microbiome could increase the likelihood of developing conditions such as allergies, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Written by Frances Wilkinson, Edited by Alex Stockham and Jeffery Donald . Formatting by Frances Wilkinson
Copyrights reserved unless otherwise agreed – IN-PART Publishing Ltd., 2022: ‘Bayer Consumer Health launch microbiome research call for academics through IN-PART’
What is IN-PART?
We believe brilliant connections can solve real-world problems. We match research pioneers from academia with decision-makers in industry sectors striving for a greater positive impact.
Our goal is to enable connections from around the world to match academic research with industry on a level playing field. Through our intelligent, matchmaking platform we showcase leading university innovations and connect academics with an international community of decision-makers in industry, creating meaningful dialogue and partnership.
Connect, a digital partnering platform for university-industry collaboration.
250+ universities and research institutes around the world currently showcase their research and innovation on IN-PART to find new collaboration partners in industry. R&D teams get free access to the platform (create an account here). There are no hidden costs and we don’t claim downstream success fees.
Discover, a bespoke scouting service for open innovation.
With the aim of solving a technical requirement or challenge, Discover enables R&D teams to identify new opportunities for commercialisation or to solicit proposals for new research from our extended academic network, which has confirmed touchpoints in 2,400+ universities and institutes worldwide.
Interested in speaking with our Discover team? Request a demo | TTO or academic? Sign-up for weekly Discover emails.
Header image credit: CDC / Unsplash License