21
CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JANUARY 2017
Maurizio Romano,
Director of law,
Janssen Inc.
he in-house legal team at Janssen Inc. is
getting an injection of entrepreneurial
spirit these days as it supports the
work going on at Johnson and Johnson's
innovation project, JLABS.
JLABS came into existence in 2012 and
the Toronto location opened last year.
Maurizio Romano, director of law at Janssen
Inc., the pharmaceutical company of
Johnson and Johnson, is playing a key role
in helping startups currently using JLABS
to fi nd their way in the innovation space.
There are three lawyers, one law clerk
and an executive assistant in the Janssen
legal department, part of the global law
department for Johnson and Johnson.
Romano and the legal team based in Canada
support the Canadian business, but they are
also part of the larger global law department.
JLABS is a Johnson and Johnson
innovation — an incubator to support
entrepreneurs. It is a collaboration with
the University of Toronto, the Ontario
government, MaRS Discovery and the large
hospitals in Toronto. Romano was part of
the team that negotiated the arrangement.
The Toronto JLABS location is housed at
the MaRS Discovery district. Outside of
Toronto, the other JLABS are located in
San Diego, San Francisco, Boston and one
in Houston.
BY JENNIFER BROWN
JOHN
HRYNIUK
