Weizmann Institute of Science has become the latest academic research institution to join forces with Deerfield Management for a drug discovery program.
Yeda Research and Development, the commercialisation arm of Weizmann Institute of Science, yesterday entered into a $130m partnership with healthcare-focused investment firm Deerfield Management.
The partnership, Orchard Innovations, marks Deerfield’s first outside the US where the firm has signed a string of similar initiatives, most recently launching the $130m Four Points Innovations with Duke University last month.
Orchard Innovations has been set up to back research and development projects at Weizmann through various phases of drug exploration and advancement. It will run for 10 years, taking on licensing rights to any intellectual property arising from its portfolio.
A joint committee from Weizmann, Yeda and Deerfield will begin assessing proposals in the coming months, seeking promising drug programs in a wide range of medical fields, including rare and difficult-to-treat illnesses.
Applicants must demonstrate a clear trajectory to attaining investigational new drug status. Follow-on funding from Deerfield…
