The joining of Northway Biotech to a Lithuanian science and business consortium collaborating with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA) marks a new stage in international life sciences cooperation. For the first time, industrial experience in the development of biological medicines is being systematically combined with the world-leading expertise of MIT and the academic competence of Lithuania.
The international biotechnology company Northway Biotech joins the consortium as its fifth business partner. The consortium’s goal is to create long-term, structured cooperation between Lithuanian science, business, and one of the strongest research universities in the world – MIT.
The ambition of this collaboration is also emphasized by Prof. Vladas Algirdas Bumelis, founder and chairman of the board of the Northway group. According to him, the company is entering the consortium with an ambitious idea – together with MIT, to establish a joint biotechnology research center in Lithuania that would address global challenges and accelerate the development of life-saving therapies by combining Northway Biotech’s industrial experience with the academic competence of MIT and Lithuanian universities. This initiative is based on more than 20 years of Northway Biotech’s experience collaborating with companies in the USA and the company’s establishment in the Boston region since 2020 – one of the largest life sciences clusters in the world.
According to Ina Žurkuvienė, coordinator of the MIT MISTI Lithuania consortium, the joining of Northway Biotech significantly strengthens the consortium’s direction of promoting real interaction between science and industry. “Meaningful partnerships occur when they become an integrated innovation ecosystem,” says the consortium representative. “Northway Biotech plays a unique role here: their already established operational bridge with the USA – they have a modern facility in Boston – as well as the ambitious Bio City project create an environment where the scientific potential of MIT and Lithuania meets top-level manufacturing infrastructure and experience.”
Bio City is a life sciences campus being developed in Lithuania, focused on biotechnology research, innovation, and high value-added manufacturing. Such infrastructure becomes a practical bridge between the academic competence of MIT and Lithuanian institutions and Lithuania’s industrial potential.
The coordinator additionally notes that the goals of the Lithuanian Consortium directly align with the country’s strategic priorities. With such a network of partners and access to one of the world’s strongest technology centers, the consortium is not only dreaming but is actively creating the conditions for the life sciences sector to generate 5 percent of the country’s GDP by 2030. This is a historic opportunity for Lithuania to establish itself on the global innovation map not as an observer, but as an active creator.
The international contract research and manufacturing organization Northway Biotech provides biological drug development and manufacturing services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. The company specializes in the development of complex biological medicines – from early research stages to commercial manufacturing – and is considered one of the leaders of Lithuania’s life sciences sector.
The Lithuanian consortium brings together 7 Lithuanian universities, 2 research institutes, and 5 business partners seeking systematic cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fields of science, innovation, and studies. This unique bottom-up initiative aims to connect Lithuania’s ambitions with MIT’s global experience in science, technology, innovation, and education. The transatlantic initiative seeks to create a sustainable, innovation-driven ecosystem of science, studies, and business in Lithuania in order to achieve real regional impact. The platform is dedicated to the development of high value-added competencies and joint research, technologies, and innovations, in close cooperation with Lithuanian business and industry.