All in all, 17 applicants across several fields showed their interest. Even though Takeda was planning to provide up to 5 meeting slots, the applicants were so interesting that invitations were extended to 6 teams to join the event. In small group sessions of 45 min each, the selected participants presented their solutions to Takeda and received feedback from R&D experts.
Sharing some insight into this first event is Dr. Larissa Kahr, Head External Partnership Interface Europe at Takeda, who spearheaded the R&D Science Day: “This was a great inaugural event with an exciting mix of participants from the tech and life-sciences start-up scene as well as academia. Our focus this time on sustainable bioprocess solutions within R&D was met by excellent presentations and lively discussions. We look forward to hosting such an event on a regular basis, because we appreciate the open and direct communication with these industry players.”
From among the selected participants was Eduard Willms, who presented his concept of a sustainability in science: “I welcomed the chance to talk to Takeda about the concept of “The Green Lab” because I was able to hear from R&D experts how some of my ideas to develop more sustainable processes would work in their day-to-day operations. We also had a great discussion about the ethical and ecological implications of conducting more sustainable science. Overall, I enjoyed the discussion and the tangible feedback I received in this meeting.”
Peter van Oostrum and Anja Juvancic from Holloid also got the chance to talk about their in-line process monitoring using machine learning and digital holographic microscopy: “It was inspiring to speak to Takeda experts about our technology because they understand how it works and the benefit it can bring in the R&D life sciences space. Our technology has a multitude of applications, so in this case it was very useful to hear from a large pharma player that our solution can facilitate a more efficient and sustainable process development.”
Reflecting also on the direct access to scientists from a large pharmaceutical company was Vitan Strasser from Brave Analytics, who introduced a solution on real-time measurements of (nano)particles in production processes: “I enjoyed this format because it allowed me to speak to Takeda scientists directly and get their undivided attention. This type of interaction is very effective because it allowed an immediate exchange on specific needs, potential and applicability of our technology with the relevant experts of an important industry player.”
In conclusion, the event was well received by both Takeda and the participants. The Takeda R&D group in Austria looks forward to hosting this event regularly and is aiming for the next session in the Fall 2023. Stay tuned to find out what the topic of this next event will be!
About Takeda in Austria
In Austria, Takeda works along the entire pharmaceutical value chain: Research & Development, Plasma Sourcing, Manufacturing and Patient Access. Every day, more than 4,500 employees contribute to ensuring that medicines from Austria are delivered to patients in more than 100 countries worldwide and that patients in Austria have access to innovative medicines from Takeda. In R&D, Takeda’s activities in Austria cover the entire pharmaceutical development process from the selection of a product candidate over the monitoring of clinical trials up to the market release of the product. R&D Austria is a central player in Takeda’s global R&D engine. www.takeda.com
Contact
Larissa Kahr
Head External Partnership Interface Europe
Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D
Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Donau-City-Strasse 7
1220 Vienna, Austria
larissa.kahr(at)takeda.com
Elvira Kainersdorfer
Technology expert biotech & pharma
LISAvienna
Walcherstrasse 11A
1020 Vienna, Austria
Kainersdorfer(at)lisavienna.at