Dutch group forms biomedical partnership

A group of Dutch companies, academic institutes, and public organizations has established the BioMedical Materials (BMM) Program. Using a budget of about $150 million over five years, the public-private partnership intends to develop medical applications, establish intellectual property, and publish scientific papers that bolster the Netherlands' position in the biomedical materials arena. Companies in the consortium include DSM, Organon, Fuji Photo Film's life sciences division, Pharming, and Medtronic. BMM will begin operations in the third quarter, and the first research project will start in 2007.