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- Collaboration spans across various indications with an initial focus on cardiovascular and kidney diseases, addressing areas of significant unmet medical need
- Bayer to leverage VUMC’s data resources to enable data-driven insights and accelerate drug discovery and development
- Collaboration will strengthen Bayer’s pharmaceutical development portfolio harnessing cutting-edge science and real-world data
BERLIN & NASHVILLE, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bayer and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) today announced that they have entered a strategic five-year collaboration agreement to advance innovative therapies from target identification through Investigational New Drug (IND) application. The agreement spans across all indications currently pursued by Bayer, initially focusing on cardiovascular and kidney diseases, two therapeutic areas with significant unmet medical need.
The collaboration will leverage VUMC’s resource platform, including its comprehensive datasets hosted in Vanderbilt’s BioVU collection of DNA and Plasma to enable data-driven insights and to accelerate discovery and development. It will combine Bayer’s expertise in drug discovery and translational sciences with VUMC’s deep preclinical and clinical knowledge.
“This collaboration exemplifies our shared vision to harness cutting-edge science and real-world data to bring innovative treatments to patients faster,” said Juergen Eckhardt, M.D., Head of Business Development and Licensing at Bayer Pharmaceuticals. “Collaborating with VUMC underscores our commitment to advancing precision medicine and fostering partnerships that integrate world-class research capabilities with industry-leading development expertise.”
“VUMC has many internationally recognized research faculty along with deep and unique data resources that enable pharmaceutical discovery and development,” said Ken Holroyd, M.D., holder of the Brock Family Directorship for Applied Innovation and Vice President for Tech Transfer at VUMC. ‘‘We are delighted to enter this new and important collaboration with Bayer. We will complement Bayer’s expertise to fulfill our mission to convert research into impactful new treatments for patients.”
About Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a growing academic health system headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., USA. It is one of the largest and most prominent academic systems in the Southeast U.S., providing patient care, conducting research and training the next generation of health professionals. With 43,000 employees, including 4,930 clinicians, VUMC accommodated more than 3.5 million patient visits last year at its seven hospitals and 180+ clinic locations. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine ranks among the U.S. top 10 in receipt of federal research funding from the National Institutes of Health. In 2025, VUMC contributed $22.13 billion to the regional economy while also providing more than $1 billion in total community benefit and investment including patient financial assistance, medical research, health professional education, community grants and unreimbursed costs for government health programs.
About Bayer’s Commitment in Cardiovascular and Kidney Diseases
Bayer is a leader in the area of cardiology and is advancing a portfolio of innovative treatments. The heart and the kidneys are closely linked in health and disease, and Bayer is working on new treatment approaches for cardiovascular and kidney diseases with high unmet medical needs. The strategy is to unlock the strong potential of the future cardiovascular market by transforming Bayer’s portfolio into precision cardiology, addressing the high disease burden, and driving long-term growth. Bayer’s portfolio already includes several innovative products and compounds in various stages of preclinical and clinical development. Together, these products reflect the company’s approach to research, which prioritizes targets and pathways with the potential to impact the way that cardiovascular diseases are treated.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. In line with its mission, “Health for all, Hunger for none,” the company’s products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2024, the Group employed around 93,000 people and had sales of 46.6 billion euros. R&D expenses amounted to 6.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
Find more information at https://pharma.bayer.com/
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Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
Contacts
Bayer Global Media Contact:
Lisa Varrelmann
Email: lisa.varrelmann@bayer.com
Phone: +49 1746466492
Vanderbilt University Medical Center Media Contact:
John Howser
Email: john.howser@vumc.org
Phone: 615-322-4747