Debrecen4U
February 5, 2026
University of Debrecen Enters Strategic Partnership with AstraZeneca
The strategic agreement, which was signed on Wednesday by the leaders of the University of Debrecen and AstraZeneca, aims to jointly support healthcare innovations, improve patient pathway management, and increase the efficiency of patient care. The partnership covers, among other fields, oncology, respiratory and immunological diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as rare diseases.
“The mission of the University of Debrecen is to apply the most modern scientific results for the benefit of patients, building on the unity of education, research, and healing. It is no coincidence that in the fields of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, it is a principal institution of the country’s only pharmaceutical cluster. The strategic partnership with AstraZeneca makes it possible to implement focused projects that directly support everyday patient care, in which the university’s knowledge base and international industry experience reinforce each other to create value. The joint research results of recent years also guarantee that this cooperation will be successful,” emphasized Zoltán Szilvássy, Rector of the University of Debrecen, at the ceremonial contract-signing event.
During the cooperation, programs aimed at developing data research and analysis will play a prominent role. By relying on domestic healthcare data assets, these programs may contribute to making patient care more transparent, sustainable, and cost-effective, thereby alleviating the continuously increasing pressure on the healthcare system.
“We believe that the complex healthcare challenges posed by chronic diseases can only be addressed sustainably through broad, long-term cooperation based on the modern achievements of science. One important element of the agreement is the further strengthening of clinical research programs, as well as the implementation of data-driven projects built on real patient pathways, which contribute to earlier detection, more personalized therapeutic decisions, and more efficient organization of care,” said Julio Ordaz, Director of the AstraZeneca Central Europe Cluster.
“The largest structural transformation in the history of the Clinical Center, the integration, was successfully completed in 2023, resulting in a clinical system with more than 3,000 hospital beds and nearly 5 million doctor–patient encounters per year. This provides us with a tremendous opportunity to serve our patients’ recovery at an even higher level by building on and further developing the knowledge we have already acquired,” said Zoltán Szabó, President of the Clinical Center of the University of Debrecen.
“The main objective of the Clinical Center is to provide even higher-quality and safer patient care than before. We have already maintained a very fruitful professional medical relationship with AstraZeneca, with numerous clinical trials and professional collaborations behind us that create a solid foundation for moving forward. This new cooperation will significantly contribute to achieving meaningful progress in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in specialties dealing with public health conditions – particularly cardiology, oncology, pulmonology, and internal medicine,” he added.
Within the framework of the strategic partnership, the parties will implement three projects with direct practical benefits. The introduction of artificial intelligence–supported pathological diagnostics into daily routine practice can greatly contribute to therapeutic decision-making.
This innovation will be applied primarily in cases of breast, lung, and prostate cancers. In addition, a health economic analysis has already been launched that compares the guideline-based patient pathway for severe asthma with current domestic practice, providing targeted information to support clinical decision-making and payer planning.
The fight against cardiovascular diseases will be supported by data-driven research on the patient population suffering from dyslipidemia, that is, lipid metabolism disorders. The study may provide a comprehensive picture of care practices for patients living with dyslipidemia, treatment patterns, therapy effectiveness, and critical points along the patient pathway.
“We are working on solutions that can bring innovation into clinical practice more quickly. Over the past five years, we have brought 58 clinical trials to Hungary, 41 of which actively involved the University of Debrecen. Our goal is for the University of Debrecen to participate in every AstraZeneca clinical trial allocated to Hungary in the future. Today, we are elevating this ambition to a strategic level in order to ensure that patients gain access to the most advanced therapies as soon as possible and that we can bring about meaningful change in their lives,” highlighted Mátyás Faluvégi, Biopharma Director of AstraZeneca, in connection with the signing of the cooperation agreement.
The parties expect that the joint projects will deliver tangible results not only in domestic but also in international scientific and professional activities.
Source: dehir.hu | Photo credit: Debrecen városa (Facebook)
