Fueling Innovation at the Inaugural Latin American and Caribbean Open Science Forum

A great idea can come from anywhere, and at Johnson & Johnson we view the world as our laboratory. To solve today’s grand challenges in healthcare, including Alzheimer’s, HIV, diabetes and cancer, we need to harness and bring to bear diverse ideas and approaches. That’s why we actively support initiatives that play an important role in bringing together the best minds from around the world to advance scientific innovation and public health. In addition to the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) and The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting, we are a founding sponsor of the first ever Latin American and Caribbean Open Science Forum (CILAC), which took place last week in Montevideo, Uruguay.

 CILAC is unique in playing a pivotal role in the development of the first consolidated regional science agenda for sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides an important opportunity for the hundreds of attending researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers and science journalists in the region to collaborate, align regional policies and priorities, and to identify actions to advance healthcare solutions and catalyze new discoveries.

Fueling scientific innovation – CILAC’s goal – is close to my heart and to our commitment at J&J to foster innovation. We are proud to support this important conference, and ongoing engagement with the Latin American and Caribbean communities to advance the ideas that will be borne out of last week's discussions.