Bristol-Myers Squibb and Tsinghua University of Beijing have entered into a multi-year strategic partnership.

BMS will fund research efforts at Tsinghua University's School of Life Sciences to identify and validate novel targets in oncology and immunoscience. The collaboration will also focus on structural biology research, the science of mapping the 3D protein structure of biological molecular targets that could serve as the basis for future drug discovery projects.

"This is Bristol-Myers Squibb's first discovery collaboration in China and is an example of the company's deepening commitment to the country," said Francis Cuss, M.D., senior vice president of research. "We are delighted to be working with Tsinghua University, a world-renowned and highly esteemed research-based academic institution with expertise in target identification and structural biology that will support the discovery of new medicines to fight serious diseases in China and around the world."

Kejun Kang, vice president of Tsinghua University, said, "I strongly believe that future cooperation between Tsinghua University and Bristol-Myers Squibb will bring about further-reaching consequences to both organizations and I wish every success in this cooperation."