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The University of Szeged and MSD have established a joint Pharmaceutical Industry Partnership Department, marking a new chapter in their collaboration. This initiative builds on a long-standing partnership – further strengthened in 2023 through clinical trial cooperation – and seeks to foster innovation in research, education, and pharmaceutical development. The agreement was officially signed in Szeged by Prof. Dr. László Rovó, Rector of the University of Szeged; Prof. Dr. Ildikó Csóka, Director-General for Strategic Planning; Prof. Dr. Zsolt Szakonyi, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy; Sean R. Smith, Managing Director of MSD Pharma Hungary Kft.; and Dr. Szabolcs Barótfi, Director of Clinical Research at MSD Hungary.

On May 12, the University of Szeged held an official ceremony to inaugurate its new research unit: the Host–Pathogen Interaction Center. Located within the Institute of Biology, the Center features Hungary’s only in vivo experimental station of its kind, alongside five newly renovated laboratories. This state-of-the-art facility is designed to support the development of antimicrobial therapies, with a particular focus on antifungal treatments – addressing a pressing yet often overlooked public health concern. The project was made possible through both professional and financial support from Katalin Karikó, an SZTE alumna and recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The origins of the University of Szeged date back to May 12, 1581, when István Báthory established the Jesuit College in Cluj-Napoca – an institution recognized as SZTE's legal predecessor. Exactly 444 years later, the University marked this anniversary with a symbolic “birthday gift”: the signing of two strategic partnership agreements. Supported by two of South America’s leading scientific and healthcare institutions, these partnerships are set to position SZTE among the global research elite in emerging and internationally significant fields of healthcare research and education.