Gurnet Point Capital launches drug development company with US$600m commitment
Boston Pharmaceuticals will partner with academic, biotech and biopharma groups to develop new medicines
Gurnet Point Capital, an investment firm focused on the healthcare and life sciences sectors that was founded by Ernesto Bertarelli and is led by Christopher A. Viehbacher, has announced the creation of Boston Pharmaceuticals, a fully-integrated drug development company that will offer an innovative alternative model for drug development and commercialisation.
Boston Pharmaceuticals will partner with academic, biotech and biopharma groups to acquire clinical assets at various stages of their development. The company will be led by Viehbacher, the Managing Partner of Gurnet Point Capital and former CEO of Sanofi, as its Chairman, and Dr Robert Armstrong, former head of external R&D at Chorus (Eli Lilly), as its CEO.
The company is composed of a small team of clinical development experts operating with the efficiency of a small company and building a substantial portfolio of clinical and commercial assets.
Rather than researching specific therapeutic categories, Boston Pharmaceuticals will focus on validated mechanisms of action of targeted diseases and efficiently achieving robust clinical and regulatory endpoints. The group will assume the risk of clinical development in de-risking the clinical assets and creating value for patients.
Through the executive team’s network of external partners and service providers, the company will develop and launch products from drug development companies and labs worldwide.
Commenting on Boston Pharmaceuticals’ focused approach, Viehbacher said, 'This is a new way to develop and to bring to market innovative medicines. We believe that the combination of our dedicated capital pool and extensive industry expertise will give Boston Pharmaceuticals a significant competitive advantage in this space. In today’s world of enhanced scientific progress, but constrained financial resources for R&D, Boston Pharmaceuticals offers an efficient means to de-risk and unlock value in early stage assets that might not otherwise be developed.
'The company has significant capital resources from Gurnet Point Capital and a long-term investment horizon, meaning Boston Pharmaceuticals can focus resources toward the development of innovative medicines in a unique way.'
Armstong said: 'The company seeks to put novel medicines that are IND-ready or beyond into its development framework. We are acquiring molecules outright or through licensing, to take on the risk of development. Our principle focus is to develop these assets through to proof-of-concept, and often through late-stage clinical trials, registration and commercialisation. Boston Pharmaceuticals’ objective is to subject each new product to the most rigorous studies, establishing clinical benefit and minimising development risks. We aim to have a large portfolio of programs encompassing both large and small molecules across multiple therapeutic areas. By not having any imperatives other then the successful development of its molecules, Boston Pharmaceuticals will be in the most unbiased position to exploit their full potential.'
Gurnet Point Capital is a fund founded by Bertarelli and led by Viehbacher with the mission to help entrepreneurs build their businesses through the investment of long-term capital as well as the experience and expertise of the fund’s team. The fund has an initial allocation of $2bn.
