Philips, MIT Create $25M Research Alliance

Philips has announced an initial five-year alliance with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In addition to creating a $25 million research partnership that will support some of MIT’s health technology innovations, the Netherlands-based tech giant will move its North American research hub from Westchester, N.Y., to Cambridge, Mass.

According to the Boston Business Journal (BBJ), Philips’ new, 50,000-square-foot Cambridge facility already is being renovated and will employ up to 200 people.

Henk van Houten, the global head of Philips Research, told Fortune that the move was in line with a more modern research and development philosophy in which research and business were integrated and cooperative. Van Houten said Philips visited many institutions before deciding on MIT.

“We were surprised by the breadth and richness of the competency at MIT (and also) the vision of the staff and being extremely networked, they don’t only look around what’s happening in Boston … they have a global vision,” van Houten told BBJ.

MIT News reports that Philips already has begun meeting with MIT scientists and has begun soliciting proposals for projects and studies involving clinical decision support, clinical informatics, interventional guidance, medical ultrasound, photonics, and bioinformatics.

Fortune names remote patient monitoring and management of chronic diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), among Philips’ top research priorities.

Spokespeople from both sides of the alliance agree the deal is mutually beneficial. Philips will have access to some of the best minds in science, and MIT scientists will see their innovations accelerate toward real world applications.

“Kendall Square [the Cambridge neighborhood MIT is helping grow into an innovation center] produced more IPOs in biotech last year than all of Silicon Valley, and I’m excited that Philips will be further enhancing this innovation ecosystem,” Karen Gleason, associate MIT provost, said in a news release.  “We hope to ramp up the speed in which we move new technologies from the lab to impact.”

Peter Szolovits, an MIT professor of computer science and engineering, will be one of the researchers receiving funding for his work in ultrasounds and other noninvasive diagnostics. Szolovits told MIT News the alliance with Philips will allow students to follow up and study how their technology performs in the real world.

“Kendall Square is a vibrant innovation ecosystem, and I am thrilled that Phillips will further enhance the diversity of commercial market segments located adjacent to campus,”  Gleason said.