Leaders from BWH and Sanofi announced the launch of the Sanofi Innovation Program on June 10.

A new awards program is poised to help BWHers bring innovative, collaborative ideas to fruition. Earlier this month, leaders from BWH and Sanofi came together to announce the launch of the Sanofi Innovation Program. Seven leading academic medical centers and research institutions, including BWH and Massachusetts General Hospital, have been selected to participate in the initiative, which will provide $2.4 million a year for three years to fund up to 24 projects each year.

At a launch event on June 10 in Bornstein Amphitheater, Paul Anderson, MD, PhD, chief academic officer and senior vice president of research of BWHC, welcomed leaders from Sanofi and described recent and ongoing collaborations between BWH and Sanofi. Anderson described projects on multiple sclerosis, cardiomyopathy, allergies and other diseases that are currently underway.

Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Medicine, told the audience about new initiatives at BWH that recognize and demonstrate the importance of between industry and academia, such as the Boston Biomedical Innovation Center, Translational Accelerator and the Brigham Innovation Hub.

The call for proposals for the Sanofi Innovation Program will be announced July 10. Sanofi is interested in a broad-range of areas, including but not limited to diabetes, infectious disease, multiple sclerosis, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, oncology and neurology, said Maya Said, vice president of strategy, science policy, external innovation and global R&D at Sanofi. A joint steering committee composed of Sanofi and senior faculty members from each of the seven sites participating in the program will review proposals and make recommendations.