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Non-traditional partnering deals have become the norm over the past few years as Big Pharma has shifted its resources away from internal R&D to outsourcing innovation. Such was the case over the past week as Bristol-Myers Squibb and Astellas Pharma partnered to access biopharmaceutical innovation coming out of academia and research institutes. While drugmakers often work with academic institutions in joint R&D programs, Bristol-Myers Squibb is going a step further by teaming up with Allied Minds, a Boston-based company focused on bringing innovative academic and federal research to market, to accelerate the drug development process. The two partners have formed Allied-Bristol Life Sciences, jointly owned and funded, which will work with U.S. university researchers to identify discoveries that have promising therapeutic and commercial potential. For programs identified by Allied-Bristol Life Sciences, university researchers will be able to access Bristol-Myers’ drug discovery research expertise and Allied Minds’ financial and management experience.
“Our partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb combines complementary strengths, resources, reach and expertise to create an exciting new paradigm in the drug development space,” says Chris Silva, CEO of Allied Minds.
The joint venture will also support the research and development needed to take these early-stage opportunities from initial feasibility to pre-clinical candidacy. Allied Minds and Bristol-Myers Squibb together will form and fund new companies to conduct feasibility and full-phase discovery programs. Once a program succeeds in identifying a preclinical candidate, Bristol-Myers Squibb will have the option to acquire the company from Allied-Bristol Life Sciences under pre-agreed terms.
“We believe this new venture will enhance the translation of early-stage academic research and will ultimately help advance important potential new medicines more efficiently.” said Carl Decicco, senior vice president and Head of Discovery, Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma will join forces with Cancer Research UK and its commercial arm, Cancer Research Technology in a two-year research collaboration to find new drug targets against cancer, with an initial focus on pancreatic cancer. Because certain pancreatic cancers are dependent on autophagy, a process of consuming your own cellular parts for energy in order to grow, the partners will focus drugs that can block this pathway. Astellas has an exclusive license to progress the most promising candidates through further drug discovery and development, subject to certain milestone and royalty payments to Cancer Research Technology.
“Since May 2013, Astellas has invited researchers from around the world to collaborate to increase drug discovery opportunities and expand development pipelines. The aim is to establish links with overseas researchers who have ideas that possess a high level of novelty and creativity,” says Kenji Yasukawa, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Astellas.
August 08, 2014
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-pharmas_tap_academia_for_drug_discovery.html
