Duke University and Deerfield Management Company, a healthcare investment firm, have launched Four Points Innovation, a major translational research collaboration effort.
Spearheaded by Duke University’s Office of Licensing & Ventures (OLV), the alliance is expected to accelerate the preclinical development of new drugs for improved quality of life and cures for disease.
By way of newly launched Four Points Innovation, up to $130m of initial funding will be made available by Deerfield to back the initiative for 10 years.
Deerfield also will provide development expertise in support of Duke’s innovative drug research across a span of high-need therapeutic areas, as well as those targeting patients who suffer from hard-to-treat and rare diseases.
A private company wholly owned by affiliates of Deerfield, Four Points Innovation will support Duke R&D projects throughout preclinical stages of drug discovery and development.
Beginning approximately in March 2020, Duke researchers will have the ability to submit proposals on projects for consideration by a Four Points Innovation committee comprised of scientific leadership representing both Duke and Deerfield.
Accepted projects will include a development plan aimed at achieving Investigational New Drug (IND) readiness. Deerfield will provide funding and operational support for accepted projects, and successful projects that achieve IND-enabled status may be eligible for additional capital from the firm.
Under the terms of the agreement, Four Points Innovation would receive an option to license Four Points Innovation-funded intellectual property developed at Duke.
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, N.C. with nearly 16,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students and a faculty helping to expand the frontiers of knowledge. The Duke School of Medicine is one of the nation’s leading centers for medical education, clinical care and biomedical research.
FinSMEs
02/01/2020