The Open Discovery Innovation Network (ODIN) is a ground-breaking open research collaboration between Aarhus University and several international pharmaceutical companies. The ambition is to use the collective knowledge of all the participating researchers and to create long-term innovation for the benefit of patients, industry and society.
The idea behind ODIN is to help the Life Sciences in Denmark improve their ability to convert research results into new products and solutions. Without the restrictive framework of patents, the ODIN collaboration boosts and uses the collective thinking and creativity of the participating university and industry researchers, enabling them to jointly refine ideas and develop projects. Although ODIN’s open results cannot be patented, everyone is free to customize and, based on that, develop products that can be commercially protected.
The ODIN network currently comprises researchers from Aarhus University and several international industry partners, such as Novo Nordisk A/S, LEO Pharma A/S, H. Lundbeck A/S, Boehringer Ingelheim and Nordic Bioscience. Other companies and researchers are welcome to participate in the project.
The collaboration is the first of its kind in Denmark, and the hope is that the concept can be expanded to other research areas such as green tech, whereby ODIN may serve as a role model for new partnerships between research and industry.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded a grant of DKK 54.5 million to support ODIN.
