Four Points Innovation has been formed with $130m in funding to nurture Duke drug discovery research, in the latest such move by Deerfield Management.

Duke University’s Office of Licensing and Ventures yesterday joined forces with investment firm Deerfield Management to establish translational research funding and commercialisation firm Four Point Innovations. Four Points has been equipped with $130m from Deerfield, which will be invested over 10 years. The firm will target pre-clinical research conducted by Duke in areas of high medical need and will have a licensing option on all portfolio assets. Applications will begin in March 2020, to be assessed by joint committee with representatives of both partners. Eligible projects must demonstrate a viable plan for securing investigational new drug (IND) status – the US regulatory designation which permits human clinical trials. Deerfield will supply development expertise to drive projects forward, and may also equip IND-approved projects with follow-on funding. James Flynn, managing partner at Deerfield Management, said: “Duke University, with its vast research enterprise, world-class investigators and novel innovations, is a leader in biomedical discovery. “We are excited about entering into this partnership with Duke, as we collectively seek to develop new medicines to save lives and address unmet medical needs.” Four Points is the latest such initiative in an increasingly long list of partnerships Deerfield has entered into with academic partners, such as University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University and Northwestern University.

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